INTERNAL LABOUR MIGRATION STUDY IN THE DRY ZONE, SHAN STATE AND THE SOUTHEAST OF MYANMAR

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1 INTERNAL LABOUR MIGRATION STUDY IN THE DRY ZONE, SHAN STATE AND THE SOUTHEAST OF MYANMAR February 2015

2 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar ii. Authors Dr. Amina Maharjan is an Agricultural Economist working in the field of migration and mobility and its linkage with rural livelihoods. She has a Ph.D in Agriculture from University of Giessen, Germany and a master in Agricultural Economics from India. Dr. Theingi Myint is an Agricultural Economist working in the field of rural development especially agricultural marketing, project planning and management and socioeconomic impact assessment. She has a Ph.D in Agriculture within the Sandwich Program of University of Giessen, Germany and Yezin Agricultural University. For more details, see Annex 6

3 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar iii Contents Executive Summary Introduction Study sites and methodology Study sites Methodology Migration profiles and patterns in the study sites Migration profiles Internal migration patterns Cross-border shuttle migration International migration patterns Gender in migration Reasons for migration Study finding by area and sector Southeast (Mon State) Rubber plantations Fisheries Shan State Tea plantation Dry Zone (Magway and Mandalay regions) Oil seed processing and wholesale trade in Magway city Paddy cultivation in Pathein Gyi Township, Mandalay region Dairy farm in Mandalay region Stakeholder mapping and legal and institutional framework in migration in Myanmar Stakeholders and migration organization Informal: social networks Formal: labour brokers Other stakeholders Legal and institutional framework for migration in Myanmar Impact on livelihood of households and communities Economic assets Access to income Access to labour Access to land Access to services Education and skills development Access to health Social assets Household: family Society: community Gendered impact of migration... 27

4 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar iv 8. Maximizing and sustaining the benefits of migration Income security Skills and productivity Remittances: financial management Mainstreaming migration in development policies and cooperation projects Migration in development policies Migration in development projects Conclusion and recommendations References and reports/studies reviewed Annexes Annex 1 Executive Summary in Myanmar Annex 2 Map showing the townships visited for the study Annex 3 List of persons contacted for the study Annex 4 List of participants of tea workshop and focused group discussion on internal migration in Shan State Annex 5 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation at a glance Annex 6 Consultant Biographies (in brief)... 46

5 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar v List of Boxes Box 1: Tea harvesting labour calendar Box 2: Groundnut and sesame cultivation in Magway region Box 3: Crop calendar in Sinyour Gyi Village Box 4: Internal migration routes in Mandalay region List of Figures Figure 1: The triangle... 5 Figure 2: Cross-border shuttle migration... 9 Figure 3: Progression of migration pattern from the Dry Zone Figure 4: Mon State Figure 5: Shan State Figure 6: Magway & Mandalay State List of Tables Table 1: Some general features of the selected study states/regions... 5 Table 2: Study States/Region and Townships... 6 Table 3: Migration stream in the selected State/Region... 8 Table 4: Costs and returns from migration route from Nay Pyi Taw to Thailand Table 5: Wages in various sectors of work Table 6: Wages in various sectors of employment in the Dry Zone Table 7: Increase in daily wages in agriculture work, Kyaupadaung Township, Magway... 25

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7 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 1 Executive Summary Migration of people for labour is gaining importance globally, as the remittances migrants send home to their families account for a significant share of the overall household income, particularly so for poor households. Internal migration is one of the most common coping strategies adopted by poor households to stabilize their livelihoods and to adapt to climate, political and economic changes. It is also one of the only means for poor rural farm households to overcome shortfalls of seasonal agricultural income and employment. Myanmar is the second largest country in Southeast Asia and is rich in natural resources including arable land, forests, minerals, natural gas, and fresh water and marine resources. However, longstanding conflicts and decades of martial law and rule has set back the development of this once prosperous Southeast Asian country. Majority of the rural population in Myanmar is dependent on farm incomes which are low and seasonal in nature. Thus, Myanmar has very high mobility of people within the country boundaries for labour purpose. Internal migration generally refers to mobility of people from their origin areas (departure area) to a new place (destination area) for work purpose but remaining in-country. Distance, frequency and duration of such movements vary accordingly to which they are given by various terms such as seasonal, temporary or permanent migration. There is very little data and information available on internal migration in Myanmar. Keeping in view the importance of this livelihood strategy for the poor rural households, this study is an effort to better understand internal migration dynamics and impacts in the selected target areas covering the Dry Zone, Shan State and Southeast Myanmar. The study is based on the review of existing literature, observations and interviews with various stakeholders involved in internal migration, including the migrants and their families. Migration patterns in the study site are diverse: internal migration, cross-border shuttle migration and international migration. Within internal migration, again diverse patterns are observed seasonal, shuttle, temporary and permanent migration. Internal migration within the Region/State is very high. Among destinations outside the Region/State, the most common and preferred destinations seem to be urban and semi-urban areas of Yangon and Mandalay. The study findings show that there is a general tendency to graduate from seasonal to temporary internal migration and to cross-border/international migration. The major reason for internal migration is the lack of sufficient and year-round livelihood opportunities at the source communities. For the households in the Dry Zone, migration is often a risk minimizing strategy to overcome the unstable farm production due to adverse climatic conditions and the high percentage of landlessness. Thus, whereas internal migration is more a survival strategy, international migration is more a wealth accumulation strategy. Migrants are mostly employed in rubber plantations, tea plantation, mining, brick factory, construction, restaurants, tea shops, garment factories, and fisheries. International migration is mostly taken up by medium to high land holding households to improve their livelihood situations and rarely by landless/near landless households. The major reason for international migration is the high wages in the destinations. As compared to internal migration, cross border/international migration has both higher costs and risk as well as returns. Migration is not gender neutral. Whereas in internal migration, both men and women migrate, international migration is mostly male dominated. Also the sector of employment has a clear gender division with women in higher demand in tea plantation, other agriculture work, garment factories, and as domestic help; whereas men are much preferred in rubber plantation, mines, and the construction sector.

8 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 2 Among the study sites, the Dry Zone is a major source area for both internal and international migration. But Mon State in the Southeast and Shan State are origin, transit and destination for internal and international migrants. It is a major destination for internal migrants, a transit point for cross-border/international migrants from other areas and a major origin/source area for international migration. Both internal and international migration destinations depend on existing social networks. Internal migration is almost exclusively organized relying on social networks and traditional trade/labour routes. Traditional routes such as from the Dry Zone to tea plantations in Shan State have evolved over years and so are well established. With the traditional routes proving to be less attractive, there is more dependence on family, relatives, and friends in deciding when and where to move and in finding jobs. There are also cases where persons arranging the migration of labourers from origin to destination areas also called labour brokers/agents are involved in migration organization, for which they are paid either in cash or in kind. The role of government institutions in internal migration is almost non-existent, except in cases of permanent migration. However, some activities/programs of the government and non-government organizations have direct or indirect benefit to the migrant population, namely programs related to health (malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis), social welfare, immigration and border security, forced labour, rights of women and children, vocational training etc. The lack of involvement of government organizations in internal migration is because there is no law or institution to look into this issue. But, in governance of international migration both government and non-government organizations are more directly involved. Both internal and international migration has significant impact on migrants and their households livelihoods in terms of access to income, land, labour, services, and social assets. Internal migration in general improves the economic situation of the households; however, the extent depends on the type of migration, skills and the sector of employment. Not all migrations are made for household income maximization but also for risk diversification. So, internal migration has not only improved household incomes but also reduced the risks faced by farm households due to extreme weather conditions or price fluctuations in the farm sector. Internal migration also has a direct and prominent impact on labour markets in both origin and destination locations. It reduces severe labour shortage faced in the destination locations, at the same time solving the problem of un-/under-employment in origin areas by balancing out demand and supply for labour. However, it can also in turn create labour shortages in the origin village, particularly during the peak agriculture season when the demand for the labour is at its highest. Similarly, internal migration also impacts on access to land of poor rural households. Though small incomes from internal migration is insufficient to purchase additional land, it helps in paying off the debt, thus reducing the loss of land to money lenders in the village. Internal migration has also overall improved access of migrants and their households to basic services such as education, vocational skills training and health. However, work in certain employment sectors and their living conditions also exposes migrants to high risks to disease such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS Unlike international migration, internal migration in general does not seem to have detrimental impact at household levels. However, at societal level, there were some conflicts reported in the Mon State, where local communities were seen to be hostile towards the migrant population. However, such strong feelings of hostility were not reported in other study areas. As seen in Mon State, as the migrant population increases and local inhabitants feel intimidated by numbers of and dependency on migrant population, tendencies for social tension in other receiving communities cannot be ruled out in the future. Though, internal migration in general has a lot of positive impact on migration-related households, there is still scope to minimize the costs and to maximize and sustain the benefits of migration. This could be done by stabilizing earnings throughout the year, improving the skills of migrant workers, improving productivity of the sectors of employment and improving the financial management skills of migrants. A large section of internal migrant workers are involved in the agriculture sector and thus suffer from the seasonality of the sector. Thus, it is important to help them provide with income

9 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 3 opportunities in the non-peak season, so that their earnings are smoothened throughout the year. Similarly, low productivity and prices of agricultural products, particularly tea and rubber, which employ high numbers of migrant workers, have made the lives of migrants highly vulnerable. Thus, improvement in productivity and profits in these sectors are indispensable for securing the livelihoods of migrant workers and their families. Additional vocational skills would also help in increasing earning capacities of migrant workers. However, to sustain the benefits of migration, not only earning and savings but their proper use is essential, but also better knowledge of financial management. This would help migrants in better budgeting expenses and improving savings but also meaningfully using money for better livelihood strategies in the longer run. In order to maximize and sustain the benefits of migration, it is imperative to mainstream safe migration in development policies and cooperation projects. At present, migration is not really a choice but an economic compulsion. In order to make migration a real choice for households, it is necessary that people have better economic opportunities at local level and can make informed decisions. Creation of such choices will depend on the overall development policies and plans of the nation. More specifically, policies/programs on land and agriculture will have a very direct impact. Landlessness and seasonality of agriculture is a major driver for internal migration. Thus, policies focusing on improving land distribution and agriculture intensification would help in making migration a real choice. Similarly, better education and vocational skills training would help in opening up opportunities locally and, when a person decides to migrate, it provides better and higher income generation at destinations. Development cooperation projects, working in various sectors in rural Myanmar, could play a significant role in maximizing and sustaining benefits of migration by mainstreaming migration and its impacts. For example, health sector programs could benefit the migrant population by focusing on their specific risks and generating awareness and support mechanism to reduce such risks. As internal migrants are from among the poorest households in the communities, targeting this population would help in meeting the overall basic objective of most development projects reducing poverty by improving the livelihoods of the disadvantaged groups and people.

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11 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 4 1. Introduction Migration of people for labour is gaining importance globally, as the remittances migrants send home to their families account for a significant share of the overall household income, particularly so for poor households. In 2013, a total of 232 million people migrated from their places of origin globally, a 33% increase from 2000 (UN, 2013). The remittances sent home by international migrant workers from developing countries are estimated to be $404 billion USD in 2013 (World Bank, 2014). The data on international migration also shows that South-South migration is the major migration pattern in international migration (UN, 2013). Though there is data available for international migration, statistics and information on internal migration is very limited. However, it is well known that migration within the country is one of the most common coping strategies adopted by poor households to stabilize their livelihoods and to adapt to climate, social, political and economic changes. It is also one of the only means for poor rural farm households to overcome shortfalls of seasonal agricultural income and employment. Internal migration generally refers to mobility of people from their origin areas (departure area) to a new place (destination area) for work purpose but remaining in-country. The distance, frequency and duration of such movement varies. While different terminologies may be used, these different types of internal migration are commonly categorized accordingly as permanent, temporary (for a couple of years), seasonal, or shuttle migration. In the latter case, the place of origin and work varies for less than a year or, in some cases, rather than move from place of origin to the destination work area labourers simply commute between back and forth between the two. This type of migration is mostly practiced by the poorest segment of communities and is an important livelihood strategy to stabilize the overall household income as well as to mitigate household risks. Myanmar is the second largest country in the Southeast Asia and is rich in natural resources including arable land, forests, minerals, natural gas, and fresh water and marine resources. Myanmar s population is estimated at over 55 million 1 and is largely rural, still reliant on a primarily agrarian economy, contributing about 36 % to the gross domestic product of the country and accounting for % employment 2. It is also one of the world s most ethnically diverse and politically complex countries. Long-standing conflicts and decades of martial law and rule have set back the development of this once prosperous Southeast Asian country. This has also proved to be a major bottleneck in availability of reliable data and updated information collection in the country, including population census. After 30 years, a population census was carried out in The little information gathered through certain surveys (such as Fertility and Reproductive Health Survey 4 ) reveal that internal migration in Myanmar is very high and that the predominant migration pattern is rural-rural rather than rural-urban (Nyi, 2013). However, this information does not include the seasonal/cyclical and shuttle labour migration. This study is an effort to better understand internal migration dynamics and impacts in the selected target areas of the HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation (hereafter HELVETAS) program in Myanmar and to explore ways to mainstream migration into development. The study covers different internal migration modalities in Myanmar, including: Internal labour migration profiles (who migrates, how and where to, sectors of employment, skills on demand) and patterns (permanent, temporary, seasonal/circular) in selected sample targeted areas Census Census

12 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 5 Major reasons for migration and most significant impacts on the livelihoods of households and communities in the departure and destination areas Pros and cons: safe migration and associated risks Ways to maximize and sustain the benefits of migration to migration-related households Mapping of stakeholders/institutions involved in the migration cycle and legal and institutional frameworks existing in migration management Potential for integrating migration in development interventions and strategies Though international migration plays an important role in the livelihoods of people residing in the Dry Zone, Shan State and Southeast Myanmar, this study will be limited to internal migration, sampling selected townships in HELVETAS-related current and planned target areas. International migration is referenced only in relation to internal migration. 2. Study sites and methodology 2.1. Study sites The study focuses on selected sample townships in the Dry Zone, Shan State and Southeast Myanmar. This is the triangle where HELVETAS is currently working and foresees future projects. Preliminary rapid scoping carried out by HELVETAS revealed that, historically, this triangle has a lot of mobility particularly from the Dry Zone to Shan State and Southeast for work purpose. Further studying and validating this triangular internal migration trend assumption helps to strengthen project design and interven- Figure 1: The triangle tions in both the sending and receiving areas. HEL- VETAS does not work in Nay Pyi Taw* or Mandalay*, however due to proximity and known migration from Magway, these areas were included in the field study. Some general population features of the States/Region selected for the study are given in table below: Table 1: Some general features of the selected study states/regions State / Region Population % of total population Urban (%) Population density Household size Magway 3,912, Nay Pyi Taw* 1,158, Mandalay* 6,145, Mon 2,050, Shan 5,815, Source: DoP, 2014

13 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 6 In each region/state, 1-2 townships were chosen for the field visits. In each field site, apart from collecting general internal migration data and patterns, some specific information was collected from identified sectors where involvement of internal migrants is high. Selected states/region and townships with relevant labour sector for the field visit are given in Table 2. Table 2: Study States/Region and Townships State/Region Townships Sectors Mon State Mawlamyine, Mudon, Kyaikmaraw Rubber plantation, fisheries Magway Magway, Minhla Oil seeds Nay Pyi Taw Zay Yar Thi Ri, Nay Pyi Taw city Restaurant, construction and farm households Mandalay Mandalay city, Patheingyi Paddy, dairy, off farm work Shan State Pin Laung Tea plantation The map in Annex 1 shows the townships visited for the study. However, information was gathered for more townships through interviews with either key informants or researchers and development actors with in-depth knowledge in the selected townships. Dry Zone The central regions of Mandalay, Magway and lower Sagaing are known as the Dry Zone and cover 13% of the country. As the name suggests, this area receives lowest rainfall levels in the country. According to a 2014 survey jointly administered by the World Food Programme (WFP), Save the Children, and the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development (MoLFRD), 18.5% of Dry Zone households face food insecurity, while 60% of households are farmers and 40% are landless. Main agriculture commodities are sesame, groundnut and other oil crops, the area also being called the oil pot of the country. However, uncertain rainfall, high degree of landlessness/nearlandlessness, low farm-gate prices and diminished margins, low technologies base resulting in lower productivity of crops, lack of off-farm opportunities act as push factors for people to migrate seasonally, temporarily or permanently. Better wages in the agriculture sector, work opportunities in offfarm sectors, potentials for improving livelihoods act as pull factors for villagers from the Dry Zone to migrate in destination locations, mostly to rural areas in Shan State and Southeast Myanmar and to the urban cities within the zone or outside (Yangon). Southeast The Southeast area includes both States and Regions, sharing borders with Thailand. With approximately 10 million population 5, the Southeast is characterized by diversity in ethnicities, in landscape and production. The Southeast is generally considered safe from severe natural disasters except for known and select flood-prone townships. It has vast areas of flat arable land, and so, agriculture is the main economic sector. A variety of agriculture commodities are grown in the Southeast paddy rice, oil seed crops, fruits (particularly, pomelo and mangosteen) and rubber plantation. Fisheries and processing of dried fish is another important livelihood opportunity in the area providing work opportunity for the locals as well as migrants. Shan State Shan State lies in the eastern region of Myanmar and boarders with China, Laos and Thailand and covers about 25% of the total land area of the country. It is one of the largest States and is divided into three sub-states Shan South, Shan North and Shan East. Shan State is endowed with vast reserves of timber, coal, metals and precious stones. It is also the home for garden products (fruits 5 HMIS data 2011

14 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 7 and vegetables) due to its temperate climatic conditions. It is also the place for Myanmar s tea plantations. All these sectors are highly labour-intensive and so a source of attraction for migrant workers from the nearby Dry Zone. As compared to the Shan State and Southeast Myanmar, the Dry Zone, particularly the rural areas has limited on- and off-farm opportunities, and so it is believed that landless/near-landless farmers move to the Shan State and Southeast Myanmar to work in the on- and non-farm sector (IOM, 2011) Methodology In order to first value and secondly complement existing and planned migration related studies in Myanmar, a comprehensive desk review and preliminary exchanges with different development and research agents involved with migration were carried out. This also aimed to help compare and verify findings to date wherever possible. However, there was very limited number of studies/secondary information available for such comparisons. Two days of introductory interviews helped in forming some general impressions as well as identifying additional organizations and persons to contact in the field visit. The field visits involved rapid and intensive two-week expedition to the selected study sites, where a number of various stakeholders were interviewed. These included migrants in both origin and destination areas, including migrants families in origin areas, labour agents (who facilitate migration process), township officials, private sector employing migrants, farmers, civil society and other key informants. As there was no quantitative data collection and as the study is based on the expert opinion, the findings of the study are of qualitative value; including several case studies. However, in order to ensure consistency of the findings, same information was collected by interviewing different stakeholders involved in a given sector. For example, in Interview with a migrant worker, Mandalaya rubber plantations, the information pertaining to migration patterns, objectives, and impacts were collected by interviewing rubber plantation owners, migrant workers, government officials and civil society/non-government organizations working in the rubber sector. This helped in cross-checking information collected as well as in clarifying any deviations on the opinions of various stakeholders. The list of persons contacted for the study are given in Annex 3 and Annex 4 6. Also in order to assist in information collection, a semi-structured questionnaire was developed (Annex 5). Interaction with various stakeholders was facilitated by either one-to-one interview, discussion in small groups of varied stakeholders, or focus group discussion with the groups of migrant labourers. The study team is aware of several quantitative studies with direct or indirect information on internal migration being planned by organizations such as World Bank, ILO migration mapping, ILO labour force survey etc. These planned surveys may fill existing gaps in the data on migration in Myanmar. 6 Annex 4 presents informants from Shan State who were participating in a tea sector stakeholder workshop organised by HEL- VETAS in Yangon during the study period, a spart of an on-going SDC funded Regional Shan Tea project implemented jointly by HELVETAS in Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

15 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 8 It is hoped that the present report will be useful to planned research to provide preliminary ideas on internal migration patterns and impacts. 3. Migration profiles and patterns in the study sites 3.1. Migration profiles Labour migration profiles in the study sites are diverse. In all the three surveyed areas, international migration to Thailand, China, and Malaysia is an important livelihood strategy undertaken by urban and rural household members. The sector of work at the destination depends on the social network as well as on levels of education and skills. The poorest sections of communities are not able to take advantage of this livelihood option. Thus, these are mostly involved in internal migration. Though there is clear lack of data and studies on internal migration in Myanmar, anecdotal evidence and data compiled from various surveys shows that there is a lot of internal mobility for income generation. The number of internal migrant workers is believed to be in the millions. Depending on the nature of work and the distance between the work and the origin village, all three types of internal migration seasonal, year-round temporary and permanent - were observed. The major reason for internal migration is employment. Lack of year-round and sufficient employment in the origin location is the major cause for people to migrate. In general, there seems to be a reduction in seasonal labour migration, with the traditional seasonal migrants preferring to make more temporary and permanent migration to destination locations with the entire family. Internal seasonal labour migration is prevalent when the origin and destination locations are not very distant. In certain States/Regions, migration is highly complex, both sending and receiving migrants at the same time Internal migration patterns According to Nyi (2013), a study based on the data collected in Fertility and Reproductive Health Survey (2001 and 2007), the highest in-migration rate is seen in the States of Yangon, Kayah, Kachin and Shan and highest out-migration in Kayah, Chin, Kachin, Mon, Tanintharyi and Ayeyarwady. Only four States/Region have net positive migration, namely Yangon, Kayah, Kachin and Shan. The migration streams in the States/Regions under this study are as follows: Table 3: Migration stream in the selected State/Region 7 State/ Region Out-migration to Migration stream In-migration from Mon State Yangon, Kayin, Bago Kayin Magway Mandalay Shan State Yangon, Mandalay, Shan, Bago, Sagaing, Mon Shan, Yangon, Bago, Kachin, Magway, Sagaing Mandalay, Yangon, Kachin, Kayah Mandalay Sagaing, Magway, Shan, Yangon, Bago, Kachin Mandalay, Magway, Sagaing, Bago, Yangon, Ayeyarwaddy Source: Nyi (2013) 7 There is no information on Nay Pyi Taw, one of the selected site as the study is based on information collected in 2007.

16 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 9 The most preferred and common destinations outside of Region/State of internal migrants from all the States/Regions under the study, seems to be the urban and semi-urban areas of Yangon and Mandalay. Permanent, temporary, seasonal and shuttle internal migration patterns are observed in the study sites. These types of migration aim a securing often precarious livelihood strategies. There is no universally accepted definition for the various patterns or types of migration. For this study purpose, the various patterns of migration, as observed, is defined below: Permanent migration Migration is considered to be permanent when migrants/households have left their origin place for good and settled in the destination place indefinitely (with or without registering with the authorities). These migrant/households do not intend to return to their original place of residence. Temporary migration Migration is considered to be temporary, when an individual or household (fully or partly) settles in the destination location throughout the year, but still has the intention to return to the original place of residence. Seasonal migration Migration is considered to be seasonal, when it takes place only in a certain time of the year or when the migrant returns to his/her place of origin at least once a year. Shuttle migration Migration is defined as shuttle migration when the migrant s place of residence and place of work is different but there is no actual change of residence. Thus, the migrant commutes from place of residence to the place of work on daily basis Cross-border shuttle migration Shuttle migration is observed not only in case of internal migration but also in international migration. For example, a new trend for migrant workers from the Dry Zone is to migrate to and take up temporary residence in border towns in the Southeast and Shan State but to work across the border as the wages are much higher there and work more easily available International migration patterns Whereas internal migration is more a survival strategy, international migration, when successful, has a clear wealth accumulation objective. The most important factor in progressing from internal migration to international is the existence of social networks to Figure 2: Cross-border shuttle migration support the migration process. Apart from better employment opportunities in the Southeast and Shan State, the high international migration of Shan and Southeast States labour force has also created a demand for internal migrants from elsewhere in the country. According to the study conducted by IOM and ARCM in Thailand in 2013, 26.7% of Myanmar s migrants in Thailand are from Mon, 19% from Shan, 16.2% from Thanninthayi and 14.5% from Kayin, whereas migrants from the Dry Zone (Mandalay, Magway and Sagaing) were less than 5%. However, there is a recent tendency among young migrants from the Dry Zone to go for cross-border/international migration to Thailand, China, and Malaysia.

17 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 10 The preference for international migration, particularly to Thailand and China, is due to the higher wages. For example, daily wages for working in construction, rubber and agriculture sectors in Thailand and China range from USD as compared to similar work in Myanmar for 6-13 USD. Or a semi-skilled person (scaffolder, plumber, and painter) can earn 16,000 Kyat per day. At home, daily wage rate is 3000 Kyat per day. So in Thailand, the wages are 3.5 times higher and living costs much cheaper. The cost and returns of a successful cross-border migration is given in the box below, which clearly illustrates the attraction for young people to progress from internal to international migration. The return from international migration, when successful, is high enough that it can make a significant shift in the socio-economic situation of the household, which is well beyond Figure 3: Progression of migration pattern from the Dry Zone the impact of internal migration. There is high demand for low skilled labour in Thailand. so finding job is never a problem. International migration is also seasonal in nature, particularly in Shan State, where even members from farm households migrate to China to work in farms during the agricultural off-season at home. Table 4: Costs and returns from migration route from Nay Pyi Taw to Thailand Nay Pyi Taw Tachileik township (Shan East) Thai border Bangkok Work sector Total cost of migration Unskilled labourer in corn factory (6 months) and as construction labourer in remaining off time Daily wages Working hours per day Overtime wages 8 Minimum monthly wage 9 Annual Overtime earnings 10 Minimum annual earnings 350,000 Kyat 10,500 Kyat 10 hours 1,500 Kyat/h 319,375 Kyat 1,095,000 Kyat 3,832,500 Kyat Total annual earnings Annual expenses 11 Annual saving 4,927,500 Kyat 730,000 Kyat 4,197,500 Kyat Returns from international migration is invested in high investment small enterprises, purchase of farmland (particularly in commercial agriculture pockets such as rubber plantations, irrigated land), whereas from internal migration on livestock keeping or petty trading. 8 Migrants work as much overtime as possible, at least 2-3 hours a day, to earn more income. 9 Without overtime 10 Considering 2 hours of overtime work 11 Considering 2 USD or 2000 Kyat per day; daily subsistence costs in Thailand are much cheaper than in Myanmar - less than a dollar a day.

18 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 11 Shan and Mon States are, simultaneously, origin, transit and destination locations. They are important origin points for international migration, transit place for potential international migrants from other parts of the country and important destination areas for migrants from the Dry Zone. For example, migrants from Chin, Rakhine and Kayin State use Mon as a transit point for migration to Thailand, as the cost of migration is lowest in this route. Migrants from Dry Zone, Shan State as a transit point for migration to Thailand (Tachileik Township) and China (Lashio Township) Gender in migration In internal migration, both men and women migrate, while international migration is mostly male dominated. Most internal seasonal male migrants are either single or, when married, the distance to the origin village is not very huge, so that they can regularly visit home. Similarly, most female seasonal migrants are single and migrate to nearby areas or as dependent of the spouse or family members. The sector of work has a clear gender division with women being higher demanded in tea plantations and other agriculture work, garment factories and as domestic help; whereas men are much preferred in rubber plantations (as tappers), mines, and the construction sector. The pay in these sectors certainly differ, but it is not clear if there is gender discrimination in the payment. 4. Reasons for migration The most commonly cited reason for migration is income generation, mostly through employment year-round employment opportunity, better paying employment opportunity, and employment with possibility of gaining additional skills. From the Dry Zone, most migrants reported lack of sufficient employment in the local community as the major reason for migration. However, the reasons for migration also vary according to gender, age, skills and socio-economic situations. Based on such reasons and conditions, types/patterns of migration also vary. Landless/near-landless households find it easier and preferable to migrate with their entire family or leaving just 1-2 members behind to look after the farm and livestock back home. Such migrants are mostly temporary or permanent migrants, depending on opportunities and family situations. For such households, migration is a livelihood and survival strategy with little wealth accumulation. The basic principle is to reduce the number of mouths to be fed from limited resources at home. Households with some land holding are mostly involved in seasonal labour migration with only 1-2 members working in the destination location, while the remaining household members stay back. Depending on the labour needs on the family farm, these migrants also usually visit their native village during the major agriculture season. For this type of households, migration is not a mere survival strategy, but rather a risk minimization and co-insurance strategy. The migrants households and migrants are inter-dependent for mutual support during extreme events, such as crop failure in the native village and migrants failing in the migration process. Although this kind of migration also does not lead to wealth accumulation, it is being used to add further livelihood options in the native village. Still a bit better-off rural families with access to more and secured land are involved in internal migration to non-farm better paid formal sectors such as working in the private sector, public jobs, nongovernment organizations etc. Migration is no more a survival strategy, but an opportunity to further skills development and better career prospects. Most of these migrants are better educated and have good potential in finding secure and stable jobs. Internal migration of these households, in turn, create the demand for hired labour either locally or through migration. For example, most households in Pathein Gyi Township in Mandalay region, with huge land holdings are employed in salaried jobs in Mandalay city, thus creating demand for migrant labour to work in their paddy fields.

19 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 12 During the field visits, various other reasons for migration were noted. Development interventions and infrastructure construction has also resulted in migration of people, which could be both internal and international. E.g. in Gokye village, Saytoketaya township, Magway region, due to construction of a dam, the entire village had to be relocated. As a direct result of this relocation, 70 persons from the village of 87 households migrated to Thailand and many more migrated internally. Failure of the farm sector, the major economic sector for the poor rural farm households, is also a major cause for people to migrate as seen in the case study below: Case study 1: Farm loss leading to migration The case takes place in a village with about 60 households in Taungtha Township, Mandalay region, where most villagers are landless or near-landless. The livelihood of the entire village is dependent on the onion crop. In this case, our female informant practiced river bank onion cultivation. Riverbeds area public land. However, for consequently 2-3 years, onion prices were at record low. The income was not even sufficient to pay the costs of inputs. Thus, she was forced to sell her house to pay the debt incurred in onion crop loss and, together with her family, she left the village for good. Through a relative, she managed to find work in Pin Laung, where she has been officially registered since 4 years. As Pin Laung belongs to Pa O Self-Administered Zone, it is necessary to register to be able to work there. Since she and her family left, about half of her fellow villagers (about 30 households) have also permanently left the village with entire families. Among the remaining 30 households, most youths have migrated to Yangon and Mandalay cities to work in restaurants to supplement their household incomes. For the youth, economic reasons is not the only reason for migration. Poor performance in school is a major reason for early migration of young people, particularly when they cannot clear the matriculation (grade 10) exam. But the reason for migration can also change with shifting household situations, as can be seen from the case studies below: Case study 2: A journey of a young migrant In this case, our migrant worker is a young man of 17 years with a grade 8 education level. He had little interest in study and was struggling with his exams. He wanted to drop studying and start working, as many young men in his village had been doing. He was eager to explore city life away from the village. Thus, though there was no economic reason, he decided to migrate to Yangon city to work in an auto spare parts shop. This job earned him 50,000 Kyat per month with free food and accommodation. He visited his village during the main planting and harvesting season to help his family with farming. He was enjoying his new experience in Yangon. About six months back, his mother fell ill. The treatment required money, which the family could not afford. So he decided to come back to Magway and found a job in the groundnut/sesame oil processing plant in Magway city. He earns a daily wage of 4500 Kyat, thus, earning 135,000 Kyat per month. He stays with his married brother in a nearby village and his brother also provides his food. So he is able to send home almost the entire earning. At times, the decision to migrate internally is also influenced by the result of unsuccessful international migration as shown by the case study below: Case study 2: Failed international migration leading to internal migration Mrs. Zar Zar Than is a 39 year old mother of two children (daughter 14 years and son 5 years). She is originally from Natogyi Township, Mandalaya region. She has migrated to Mandalay city about a year back and works as domestic help in different households. Her village has good land for paddy and oil seed cultivation, but without irrigation, they are dependent on weather conditions. Thus, people are losing interest in farming. International migration as an alternative livelihood is very popular, particularly among males in her native village. Her husband had also migrated to Malaysia about two and

20 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 13 half years back. The total cost of migration was around 18 lakhs Kyat. He had migrated legally through recruiting agencies. However, her husband was not successful in his migration, and could only send remittance of about 4 lakhs in a year, which were not sufficient to meet the household needs as well as to repay the debt. Thus, they still have an outstanding debt of 4 lakhs Kyat. Her husband works in charcoal production in the village, which earns him only 1500 Kyat per day. And wages in agriculture work is low, about 1000 Kyat per day for female and 1500 Kyat per day for male. The earnings were not sufficient to make a living as well as pay off debt. The poor financial situation also created a lot of family tension between husband and wife. Thus, she decided to migrate to Mandalaya region, where her mother s family lives, and has been working as a domestic help. She plans to pay back the debt through savings form this work. Most landless/near landless households preferred to go for internal temporary or permanent migration; small to medium holder households preferred either seasonal internal migration or international migration. Among the landless/near landless households, entire or part of the family migrate while among small to medium land holding households, only one or two members (and rarely the household head) migrate. 5. Study finding by area and sector 5.1. Southeast (Mon State) In Mon State, most internal seasonal migrants were from within Mon State, while migrants from outside are mostly year-round temporary (with or without family) in nature. Migrant numbers from the Dry Zone in Mon State are low compared to neighbouring Bago and Delta Region, particularly Ayeyarwady. Migration from the Delta is reported to have increased after cyclone Nargis. IOM (2013) also reports that most in-migration to Mon State is intra-state; however, the townships of Mawlamyine and Mudon attract migrants from all over the country and Kyaikmaraw from Bago (East and West). Most of the migrants in the study sites had temporary settlements Mawlamyine (65%), Mudon (70%) and Kyaikmaraw (73%). The migration pattern depends on the sector of work which, in turn, depends on the origin of the migrant workers. While migrant workers Figure 4: Mon State from the Delta region are mostly involved in fisheries and rubber plantation, migrants from the Dry Zone are involved in construction work, brick factory, and to some extent on rubber plantation. Some migrant workers have also found work in various factories in the area such as water purification plants, chili factory, tyre factory etc. Work in brick factories is seasonal in nature, lasting for 4 months from November to February. Work in construction, factories, rubber plantations is more permanent in nature. However, even migrant workers in brick factories might not necessarily be seasonal as they might stay in the area and find work elsewhere during the off-season road construction, paddy fields etc. High demand is reported of female migrant workers from the Delta region in the Karaoke Bars, popularly known as KTV.

21 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 14 Table 5: Wages in various sectors of work Sector Daily wages (Kyat) Monthly wages (Kyat) Food Accommodation Rubber Tapping 50,000-60,000 own free Weeding/other 2,000 20, own own Agriculture 2,000 60, free own Fisheries Labourer 70,000 Free Own Captain 80,000-85, Free Own Construction Unskilled 4, , free free Semi-skilled 6, , free free Brick factory 4, , own own Apart from this general information, the field visit in Mon State focused on two main sectors of employment rubber plantation and fisheries. The IOM study (2013) on the Mobile and Migrant Population (MMP) in selected townships in Mon State reported that the major occupation of the MMP, in addition to fishing and related business, is plantation and hillside agriculture: Mudon (45%); Kyaikmaraw (57%); Mawlamyine (61%). Other employment/industry sectors include construction, factories, and trading. Information was collected through focus group discussion with rubber plantation workers and interviews with rubber and fisheries private sector actors, township officials and other government officials, NGOs and international organizations working in the area Rubber plantations Rubber is grown in Ye, Mudon, Mawlamyine, Kyeikmaraw, and Thanbyuzayat townships in Mon State. Not all rubber plantations are large. Almost 50% are smallholder plantations with <5 acres of land, which are taken up as a family enterprise. As tapping is highly labour intensive and requires certain skills, hiring of labour is common among rubber plantation owners. Migrants are predominantly young men between years of age. Tappers are generally older compared to seasonal migrants working in weeding, clearing bushes, due to the skills requirement. About 5 families of year-round temporary migrant families are required for tapping 30 acres of rubber plantation. Therefore, temporary migrant families are mostly afforded by large plantation owners with 10 acres or more. Smallholders depend on seasonal migrants from nearby townships (from Bilin in Mudon Township and from Chaungzon in Kyeikmaraw Township). The origin of out-of-state migrants is Yangon, Bago and the Delta region. Rarely, migrants from the Dry Zone work in rubber plantations in these two townships. Tapping requires specific skills which can be learnt in about days of on-the-job training. However, the most difficult part of the job is to adjust to a new lifestyle, where the tappers work at night. 12 During off-season, for weeding, fertilization work, workers are paid in daily wage basis of 2,000 Kyat. In state-owned estates, the tapper families take up this work (earning about 20,000 Kyat per person per month), while in private farmers without temporary workers, hired workers do this job. However, the tapper migrant workers are paid 50 kg of rice per month (about 20,000 Kyat) in order to retain them. 13 Monthly equivalent of daily wages % of the catch

22 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 15 Tapping starts around mid-night and is completed around 6 am. The latex is collected for weighing between 8 am and 12 noon. The workers are free in the afternoons. Most of the temporary migrants reside in temporary huts on the rubber plantation for 3-5 years. Tapping is seasonal in nature, from September to May. During off-season, workers are involved in weeding, clearing bushes, which is not very labour intensive. Thus, work is not available for everybody. Those migrant settlers, who still hold land in their native village, visit home to support the remaining family in farming. However, as most are landless or near-landless, they remain in the destination area and find work outside the rubber estate often working in paddy fields of local farmers. In case of seasonal migrant labourers, they reside in the destination location during tapping season and return back to their native village during off-season. With good understanding between employer and employee, arrangements are made, so that the same labourers return every year during tapping season. A major constraint is to retain the migrant labour workers. With the fluctuating prices of rubber, migrant labours are losing attraction to work in the sector. In addition, the seasonality of the rubber tapping limits the earning potential of migrant workers in this sector. Thus, removing these two barriers would be important to overcome the labour shortage problem faced by the rubber sector as well as to improve the livelihoods of the rubber sector migrant workers Fisheries This sector also attracts a lot of migrant labour but mostly from the Delta region, Yangon and Mon State. Migrant workers from Yangon and Mon state work in Northern Mon state (e.g. Paung township), whereas those from the Delta region work in Southern Mon (e.g. Ye Township). This is because of the similarity in fishing technologies used at the origin and destination for the migrant labourers, thus making work more familiar. Kyaikto Township in Mon State is a major source area for migrant workers in the fishery sector. Migrant workers are mostly males of the age of years. Wages vary with experience, but generally fishing labourers earn about 70,000 Kyat per month. Older labourers work as boat captains and earn more due to their experience and higher level of responsibility. The captain is mostly paid a proportion of the catch of about 10 % (around 1,000,000 Kyat per annum). The owner of the fishing vessel pays food, but the labourers have to make their own accommodation arrangements. Since decreasing fish catches in the last 8 years, fishing is continued throughout the year, including the rainy season. Therefore, most migrants come with their family and are permanent or long-term settlers. However, some of the Mon State internal migrants are individual migrants with their families remaining back home Shan State Shan State attracts a lot of migrants from the Dry Zone to work in mines, tea plantations, sugarcane farms, etc. Labour force from Shan State itself is attracted to international migration to China, Thailand and Malaysia. This also creates an additional demand for migrant labour to replace the lost labour in the various on- and off-farm sectors in Shan State.

23 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 16 As the Shan language is very similar to the Thai language, Thailand is a preferred destination for migrants from South and East Shan. It is reported that half of the youth population from Pin Laung Township in South Shan has migrated to Thailand to work in construction, factories, and for females as domestic workers. On the other hand, due to closer geographical proximity and high demand and wages in China, labour from North Shan migrates in large numbers to China. It is reported that about 60 persons of the age group of years leave daily from Namhsan Township to work in China; similar trend are also reported in Mongton Township. Both males and females migrate to work in agriculture (potato, tomato, sugarcane farms) and the construction sector in China. Most of these migration movements are seasonal in nature lasting from July-Feb. After the main tea leaf picking season in Figure 5: Shan State March-June, both tea growers (small holders) and workers migrate to China and stay there for a period of about 6 8 months. Higher wage rates are the major pull factor, where daily wages in agriculture work ranges USD per day. Unlike internal migration, this migration does not rely on social networks. In order to reduce the risks migrants travel in groups of 5-10 persons and search for work after reaching the destination. Hence, Shan State is both a destination and transit place for the migrants from the Dry Zone. Dry Zone migrants find work in the tea and sugarcane plantations but they also use it as a transit point for migrating to China and Thailand. Shan State also reported high intra-state migration. North and East Shan are the only States/Region in Myanmar where out-migration to other State is very low (Nyi, 2013). Most migration from Shan State is either intra-state or international/cross-border. Intra-State migration is made from one village to another to work as seasonal labour migrants or to the urban centres. Seasonal migration to neighbouring villages to work in tea and other crops is reported in the townships of Pin Luang, Pindaya, and Pangwuar. Migration to urban and peri-urban centres is reported in all townships. For example, the youth from the Pangwuar Township migrate to Mongla Township to work in casinos and construction sites where they earn higher income compared to staying in their village (up to$16usd per day). Similarly, from Pindaya Township some youth of years migrate to Yangon city to work in aluminium installations Tea plantation Seasonal migration of labour from the Dry Zone to tea plantations in Shan State is a traditional and well established labour migration route. However, the migration pattern and extent varies between townships. Information was collected for the following townships: Namhsan and Pangwuar townships in North Shan, Pindaya & Pin Laung townships in South Shan, and Mongton townships in East Shan. It is based on the focus group discussions with tea plantation farmers, tea traders and tea association members held in Yangon (in tandem with the HELVETAS Tea Stakeholder workshop) and interviews with the tea migrant labourers and key village informants in Pin Laung Township.

24 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 17 Tea leaf picking is highly labour intensive. A 60 acre field requires about workers during picking season. Thus, tea has historically attracted a lot of migrant workers from the Dry Zone, particularly in the main harvesting season of March/April and May/June. Tea is cultivated in large holdings in Nahmsan. But in other townships, most tea growers are smallholders with 3-5 acres. Tea plantations in Nahmsan are dependent on seasonal migrant labour from the Dry Zone, whereas in other towns they depend on labour from neighbouring villages. Labour migration from the Dry Zone to tea farms in Nahmsan Township is an old and established migration route. In earlier days, not only migrants from the Dry Zone but also from China were attracted to work in the tea farms of Shan State. However, this trend reversed with the Palaung men migrating to China for labour and women for marriage (Myanmar times, 2013) 15. Most seasonal labour migrants are young females between years. Most of the migrants are single with low levels of education (about grade 4). The labour migrants stay for about 3 months from end of March-early June. Box 1: Tea harvesting labour calendar Daily wages in tea plantation vary from township to township and seasons. Migrant workers from the Dry Zone to Nahmsam Township earn about 100, ,000 Kyat for 3 months with free accommodation. At times, even food is provided by the tea plantation owner. But with reducing tea prices, there is now an increased trend to pay based on the amount of tea lgeaf picked. The tea leaf harvested is shared between the labourer and employer. In other townships, daily wages are paid. For example, in Pin Laung daily wages are 2000 Kyat, but during peak season wages are Kyat per day. As the price of rice is much cheaper in the Dry Zone compared to Shan State (e.g. in Mandalay, a bag of 50 kg rice costs 23 USD compared to 25 USD in Shan State), migrants bring the necessary amount of rice from their village, the cost for which is reimbursed by the tea grower. Apart from seasonal migrants, Pin Laung has also attracted permanent migrants from the Dry Zone. As Pin Laung belongs to the Pa O self-administered zone, it is reported to be easier for the labourers to reside and work, if they are registered with the local authorities. Accordingly, permanent migrants find it easier to get jobs. Apart from tea, they find work in jute, paddy and other crop cultivation. Almost all townships report facing labour shortages in the tea plantations. This is main because of low tea prices, which makes this sector less attractive for would-be labourers. The tea sector faces challenges from other more lucrative sectors such as sugarcane plantations. For example, in Laukkai Township, Shan (North) bordering China, a lot of sugarcane is grown which supplies the sugar factories across the border. Migrant workers from the Dry Zone and also Bago region, find work in these plantations from November-March. Wages are based on the amount of sugarcane cut, which amount to on average USD per day. However, most of these migrant workers are male with some females accompanying. 15 Myanmar times, 11th February Available online at

25 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar Dry Zone (Magway and Mandalay regions) The preferred destination areas for internal labour migrants from the Dry Zone are: i) Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay for work in industrial zones, tea shops, restaurants, construction and petty trading; ii) Shan State and Southeast to work in tea, sugarcane, rubber plantations, and mines; iii) North Kachin for work in gold and jade mines; iv) central Dry Zone for crude oil. Internal migration can be seasonal, temporary and permanent. Work in cities and mines is temporary or permanent in nature. While work in the agriculture sector and crude oil extraction is seasonal in nature. The type of migration depends on the existing social network, skills and the socio-economic status of the households. Most young males with slightly higher education (8-10 years of schooling) find jobs in res- Figure 6: Magway & Mandalay State taurants and as sales personnel in shops. The salary for such jobs ranges between 50, ,000 Kyat per month with free food and accommodation. Jobs in restaurants are preferred as, apart from salary, they also earn service tips and the work has certain career growth potential. Youth with lower level of education (up to grade 4) find work in the construction sector. Construction workers earn between Kyat per day depending on the skill level with free food and accommodation. However, this sector reports high rates of work related accidents for which workers do not have any insurance cover. This increases health risks for the workers. The traditional seasonal migration routes such as to tea plantations in Shan State and rubber plantation in Mon State are losing attraction, with mines and construction work getting more attractive. Also, there is increase in temporary and permanent migration with entire families. For example, Pin Laung has several permanent migrant households from Magway region and Kyaupadaung Township of the Mandalay region. Seasonal migration is high in the case of intra-state/region migration, whereas inter-region migration in the Dry Zone is more temporary in nature. For example, oil seed processing and wholesale factories in Magway region, paddy cultivation and dairy farms in Mandalay region have more seasonal migration. For inter-region migration within the Dry Zone, Mandalay city, Magway city and Pinoolwin city attract a lot of youth from rural areas to work in private enterprises, particularly in small shops, e.g. auto spare parts, restaurants, hotels, agriculture processing factories etc. In Magway region, crude oil extraction attracts many internal migrants from the region and from neighbouring townships in Mandalay region. Minhla Township, a study site famous for crude oil extraction, attracts seasonal migrants from both Magway and Mandalay. Work is seasonal in nature from January to April. Workers return home during off-season to work in their farms. Most migrants are males of years of age. Even household heads migrate to work in oil fields. The work can be on daily wage or harvest share basis. Daily wages are about 4000 Kyat, which is much higher than in agriculture sector. Some migrants also lease land, mostly in groups, for oil extraction. When the yield is good, the migrants can earn 15,000-20,000 Kyat per day. However, extraction varies from site to site and is a bit of a gamble.

26 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 19 Table 6: Wages in various sectors of employment in the Dry Zone Sector Daily wages Monthly pay Food Accommodation Agriculture 2,000-3,000 60,000-90,000 free own Oil processing 4,000-4, , ,000 own own Construction 4,500-6, , , free free Sales person 50, ,000 mixed mixed Restaurant 50, ,000 free free There is also an increase in international migration to China, Thailand, Malaysia, though it is still much lower compared to the Southeast or Shan State. However, some townships report very high international migration (Kyaupadaung, Natogyi in Mandalay region), while others have less (Patheingyi, Tada U in Mandalay region). Women from the Dry Zone are reported to migrate to Thailand to work in garment factories, fisheries, as sales persons and domestic workers. As this migration trend is already established, social networks are used to migrate and find jobs in destination locations. Due to high return, money lenders are also willing to finance international migration at an astronomical interest rates of 7-13% per month. The decision to migrate internationally seems to depend mostly on the success of the pioneers, the social network available and the resources to fund the cost of migration. The general tendency in the village seem to first test international migration by sending a few pioneers, and then depending on their success or failure, the future trend is determined. For example, in Ywar Thit Calay village, when the first 3 pioneers failed in their international migration, others in the village did not take to international migration Oil seed processing and wholesale trade in Magway city In Magway one of the sectors providing high employment to the migrant and local labour force is oil seed processing and wholesale trade. Magway is an important oil seed producing region in the country. Magway city hosts a large number of oil seed processing factories and wholesale traders. Oil seed processing is highly labour intensive work providing employment opportunities to both male and female. Most workers are from the nearby villages commuting to the work place every day, the shuttle migrants 17. However, there are also seasonal migrant workers from other townships employed in this sector. Male workers are used for hulling, drying and carrying work and women for winnowing. This work is seasonal in nature and lasts for 9 months from July to March. The other three months of the year, the labourers work in their own fields or work as agricultural wage labour in the village as it is the main planting time for both groundnut and sesame. Box 2: Groundnut and sesame cultivation in Magway region 16 Monthly equivalent of daily wages 17 In this type of migration, there is no change in residence but the labourers commute between their place of residence and work every day for certain seasons/months of the year.

27 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 20 For male labour, wages are fixed at 4500 Kyat per day. For female labour, the wages are paid based on the amount of groundnut and sesame winnowed, 25 Kyat per viss 18. On an average, a person can winnow 150 viss per day, i.e Kyat per day. No food and accommodation is provided by the employer. Mostly the same labourers returns every year to the work place. For example, in the oil seed processing factory visited, the present labourers have been working since the last 10 years. They all come from the Ywar Thit Calay village about 7 miles away and commute to the work place every day. The working hours are 9 am to 5 pm. Labour shortage is severe during the harvesting month of November/December. This is mainly due to other work opportunities in the area, particularly construction work. The construction work wages for non-skilled workers are 4500 Kyat per day with free food and accommodation. In addition, although the work is heavy, people prefer to work in construction, as the work performed is not aligned with the pay Paddy cultivation in Pathein Gyi Township, Mandalay region Sinyour Gyi Village in Patheingyi town has fertile land for crop cultivation together with irrigation facilities. Thus, crop cultivation is intensive with 2-3 harvests in a year, inducing a high demand for labour during planting and harvesting seasons. However, most people from the village work in Mandalay city, creating severe scarcity of farm labour locally and creating a market for internal seasonal labour migrants. This demand is met by internal seasonal labour migrants from Gone May Eain village, Tada U Township, Mandalay region, a dry village with no irrigation and limited agriculture production. Most of these migrant labourers are youth of years and consists of % of male and female singles with an education level of maximum 10 grade. In each visit to the destination village, migrants spend about 1-2 months. So in total, migrants come to the destination village 3 times a year and stay about 4-5 months. Box 3: Crop calendar in Sinyour Gyi Village Wages are fixed at 3000 Kyat per person for harvesting/planting an acre of land by a group of 14 persons. However, depending on the number of persons involved and area covered, wages can vary. Maximum a group of 14 persons can plant/harvest about 2.5 acres of land, in which case a person earns about 7000 Kyat per day. Free accommodation is provided by the focal person in the destination village, but the labourers have to cover food costs of about 25,000-30,000 Kyat per month. Thus, a migrant worker could save a minimum of 200,000 Kyat per visit or 600, ,000 Kyat per annum. Migrants travel in groups by hiring a vehicle for their transport from the origin to the destination village. For the transport, a person is charged 1000 Kyat per trip. As the cost of rice is much cheaper at the destination village, migrant workers purchase rice in their destination area for their consump viss = 1.63 kg

28 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 21 tion in their native village. Each worker purchases about 250 kg of rice on return home. Another important investment of the remittance is livestock, cattle and goat, which are taken care by the older family members in the village. Box 4: Internal migration routes in Mandalay region Similar seasonal labour migration arrangements exists between other townships, which is presented in the box below Dairy farm in Mandalay region Another enterprise attracting labour migrants in Pathein Gyi Township in Mandalay region is the private dairy farms. Both intra-state and inter-state migrants were found working in such farms. More than the geographical distance, the social network seems to be the major condition for finding a job. Unlike in paddy, migrants are temporary in nature. Dairy animals need constant care and the dairy product (milk) is highly perishable in nature, so labourers have regular work throughout the year. Working hours are also different from that of crop sector or off- farm work; work in a dairy farm can be divided into morning and afternoon shifts. Morning shifts start at 6 am and last until 10/11 am, afternoon shifts start at 3 pm and lass until 6/7 pm. Therefore, in the hot daytime, labourers can take rest or do something else. This is one of the major reasons mentioned by the labourers for their attraction to working in this sector. Another reason is the stable income source, which does not vary with season or production. Wages in dairy farms are about 70,000-80,000 Kyat per month with free accommodation provided by the employer. Apart from that, workers also learn a new skill that is highly useful and replicable in their own villages. Many migrant labourers in dairy farms, thus, aims to have their own small livestock enterprise (cattle based) in the future in their village. This is also their planned exit strategy from economic migration. During the interview, it was shared that some of the workers in the dairy farm in Mandalay were earlier working in dairy farm in Nay Pyi Taw together with 16 couples from Mandalay region. So not only in Mandalay but also in other states/regions, dairy farm seems to attract migrant labourers. 6. Stakeholder mapping and legal and institutional framework in migration in Myanmar 6.1. Stakeholders and migration organization Informal: social networks Internal migration is mostly organized relying on social networks and traditional trade/labour routes. The traditional routes such as from the Dry Zone to tea plantations in Shan State has evolved over the years and so are well established. In this type of migration route, relationship between employee and employer is well established thus making process much easy. Demand and supply is agreed directly between the two without involvement of intermediary actors. With the traditional routes proving

29 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 22 to be less attractive, there is more dependence on social networks in deciding when and where to move and in finding jobs. Social networks can be family, relatives, friends, neighbours the services of whom are mostly free of cost. For instance, most of the migrants interviewed permanent, temporary and seasonal mentioned about getting the information about the job from friends, relatives and neighbours Formal: labour brokers However, there are also cases where persons arranging the migration of labourers from origin to destination areas also called labour brokers/agents are paid either in cash or in kind. An example of such an internal seasonal labour migration arrangement between Pathiengyi Township and Tada U Township in Mandalay region is given below. Case study 3: A case of internal seasonal labour migration arrangement in Mandalay region The seasonal labour migration in this route is highly organized. In the origin village (Gone May Eain village, Tada U Township), the available youth are organized into two groups of persons. Each group has an appointed leader who is responsible for collecting the demand and organize labourers, their transport, accommodation in destination etc. In this case is the appointed leader is a 23 year old male. Similarly, the destination village (Sinyour Gyi village, Patheingyi Township) also has an appointed person who collects the labour demand from the farms and makes the necessary arrangements. Before actual migration takes place. The two focal persons exchange about the number of persons demanded and the duration. Then the leader in the departure area organizes the transport of the migrant labourers and the appointed person in the destination area is responsible for all other arrangements in the destination, including the accommodation of the migrant labourers during their stay in the destination village. Both the leader of the labour group and the appointed person in the destination village are paid for their services. In this case, the leader in the departure area gets payment in kind (rice, new cloths) for his arrangement and the focal person in the destination area is paid 3000 Kyat per day for 10 labourers arranged. The payment is made by the farmers in destination village. Once the migration route has been established, the future continuation of the migration is dependent on the relationship between employer and employee and the general market situation of the sector of employment. As reported in the rubber plantation in Kyeikmaraw Township, Mon State, once trust between the seasonal migrant labour and employer is established, the relationship holds for decades. This is particularly true when the labour demand is not very high Other stakeholders There are very few organization, both government and non-government, working on internal migration management. Most organizations and activities focusing on internal migration are involved with Internally Displaced People (IDPs), but little on labour migrants. However, some actions of governmental and non-governmental organizations which have direct and indirect benefit to the rights and access to services by internal migrants are programs related to health (malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis), social welfare, immigration and border security, forced labour, rights of women and children, vocational training etc. For example, IOM organizes mobile clinics, provides access to information on various health related problems and access to services which have been highly beneficial to migrant communities. Similarly, ILO projects and activities focused on forced migration also directly benefit the migrant populations, as the industries focused by such programs employ a large numbers of migrant workers. Some civil society/ngos work also to benefit the migrants directly. One such organization is Local Resource Centre which provides information to its clients, including migrant workers, on job opportunities locally as well as links them to organization working on various issues such as access to justice in case of need. The activities of organizations focusing on vocational training,

30 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 23 rights of women and children also indirectly benefit the migrant population, thought they might not be targeted population. In recent times, there has been increased interest in internal migration, recognizing the importance of this livelihood strategy for the poor sections of communities. Thus, organizations are undertaking initiatives to collect information and statistics in this issue. One such initiative currently underway is by the World Bank, which plans to conduct both quantitative and qualitative study to better understand internal migration in Myanmar Legal and institutional framework for migration in Myanmar There is no specific legal or institutional framework yet to regulate/manage internal migration in Myanmar. However, other legal and institutional frameworks have some influence on internal migration. For example, during focus group discussions with tea plantation farmers and tea workers from Shan State, it was reported that in Self-Administered Zones, for the temporary migrant workers (who wish to stay year-round in destination locations), it is necessary to first get registered with the destination village administration before being able to work. Permanent migrants also find it much easier to find work and settle in destination locations, if they are registered with the local authorities. Such an experience was shared by the tea labourers in Pin Laung, who are originally from Magway region. Since they have registered with local authorities in Pin Laung, they could find work and settle there. During discussion with international organizations in Yangon, it was reported that there are incidences of human trafficking in internal migration as well; however during interview with various stakeholders this could not be verified. However, issues of forced labour in garment and other factories in Industrial zone and in domestic work was reported. Unlike in case of internal migration, many organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, are involved in international/cross-border migration management. The Department of Population, Ministry of Immigration and Population, is the apex body in migration management. As an initiative to integrate more closely with the other ASEAN economies, steps have been taken up to address migration of labour force within these countries. Myanmar and Thailand have signed a MoU to promote more documented migration in order to protect the rights of Myanmar migrant workers in the Thailand. Many international organizations such as IOM, ILO, World Bank, World Vision International etc. and many donors are involved in migration management in Myanmar, particularly in anti-trafficking programs, health programs etc. IOM is also involved in improving access to information to make international/cross-border migration safer. IOM is in the process of establishing Migrant Resource Centres as a pilot to provide information for safer migration process. 7. Impact on livelihood of households and communities As migration is a livelihood strategy adopted by the households to improve their overall socio-economic situation, it in turn impacts all aspects of the life of families and communities Economic assets As lack of year-round and sufficient livelihood opportunities is the major reason for people to migrate for work purpose, migration has positive impacts on the household economic situation. However, the extent of this improvement depends on the type of migration, skills and the sector of employment. Not all migrations are made for household income maximization but also for risk diversification. So internal migration has not only improved household incomes but also reduced the risks faced by farm households due to extreme weather conditions or price fluctuations in the farm sector.

31 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar Access to income For rural un-/semi-skilled internal migrants, the most accessible jobs in the non-agriculture sector seems to be construction work, a finding also reported in other parts of the world (ILO 2001, IOM 2005, de Haas 2006). As construction is not mechanized in Myanmar, it is highly labour intensive. For many poor rural migrants, this provides one of the best options of employment in the urban areas in absence of any off-farm vocation and technical skills. As can be seen from the wages comparison, generally the highest wages are earned by unskilled migrant workers in construction work. In construction work, addition of a little skill has a very high positive impact not only on earning capacity but also on work availability. While an unskilled worker earns Kyat per day, a mason or carpenter earns 6000 Kyat per day. In the agriculture sector, wages range between Kyat per day. However, 5000 Kyat is earned only for a short duration in a year and only in few areas. In most cases the wages are Kyat per day. When the earnings are low, it is almost exclusively used for household consumption, which is the case in most seasonal migration case. However, when migration is temporary in nature and migrants come from medium income households, some saving is used for investing in small enterprises in native villages. Skills learnt in destination locations are also transferred to home villages. Case study 4: A migrant dream - not only vocational but life skills also count to make it true Mr. Mya Klin is 26 years old and comes from Pathein Township, Ayeyarwady Region. He has been working in a restaurant in Nay Pyi Taw since last 4 years as a waiter. He got the job through a friend. He completed grade 11 of schooling but failed in grade 12, and so decided to find job instead of repeating the exam. From his village, very few people migrate, and now he wishes to return back as well. However, he does not want to return back empty handed. Rather he wishes to be self-employed as well as to create jobs for others. He wishes to use the skills (technical, financial and other life skills) that he has learnt to open up his own restaurant in his village. About 2 years back, the government has established a factory which employs a lot of work force both from inside the village as well as from cities. He sees his clientele among these work force. He has been saving a part of his salary to fulfil his dream. Apart from working as waiter, he has been learning financial book keeping, cost calculations, kitchen handling etc. about the restaurant business and is now confident to succeed in his business Access to labour The most prominent impact is on labour markets in both origin and destination locations. Internal migration solves the problem of un-/under-employment as well as creates labour shortages. It reduces severe labour shortage faced in the destination locations at the same time solving the problem of un- /under-employment in origin areas by balancing out demand and supply for labour. However, it can also, in turn, create labour shortages in the origin villages, particularly during the peak agriculture season when the demand for the labour is at its highest. In general, farming, in Myanmar is highly labour intensive, as there is little mechanization. Thus, labour migration impacts labour availability which, in turn, impacts wages, agriculture production and crop yields and value. As seen in Kyaupadaung Township in Magway region, the labour shortage has increased the wages in agriculture work.

32 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 25 Table 7: Increase in daily wages in agriculture work, Kyaupadaung Township, Magway Gender Season Before (Kyat) After (Kyat) Male Off-season 800 2,500 Peak season 1,500 3,000 Female Off-season 600 2,000 Peak season 1,000 2,000 In almost all the sites visited, agriculture wages vary between the lean and peak season, due to the seasonality of labour demand in this sector. For example, in Pin Laung Township, South Shan, wages were 2000 Kyat per day during lean period which goes up to 5000 Kyat per day in peak season (March-June for the tea leaf harvesting period). As agriculture is the major economic sector in rural Myanmar, and the internal migrants are mostly farmers or landless farm labourers, the impact of internal seasonal labour migration is high in agriculture sector. Most source communities reported labour shortage during peak agriculture seasons as a result of internal migration. The labour shortage is higher in places with international and temporary migration and is less felt or low in case of seasonal migration. Some areas have reported mechanization of farming in order to cope with labour shortages. For example, Lewe Township, Nay Pyi Taw reported a rise in mechanization, particularly the use of combined harvesters to adapt to labour shortage. However, many villages in the Dry Zone in particular have reported the neglect of farms due to labour shortage. Therefore, impact of labour shortage on farming depends on the existing farm profitability and productivity. But, there is a general lack of interest in subsistence farming among the younger generation, particularly in the Dry Zone. In destination locations, internal migration positively influences agriculture production. Reduction in internal seasonal labour migrants is considered an important challenge in the future performance of both tea and rubber plantations Access to land Access to land is a major factor on the decision to migrate internally as well as internationally. And migration, in turn, has an impact on access to land for migrant households. For the poor with little or no land, internal migration is a survival strategy. The small incomes from the internal migration are hardly sufficient to actually purchase a piece of land, but it helps in paying off debts, thus reducing the loss of land to money lenders in the village. Hence, internal migration does help indirectly in the access to land situation of certain vulnerable households. International migration, on the other hand, when successful, has sufficient returns to actually lead to the purchase of land at the origin place or nearby urban centres. However, the decision to actual purchase is not only dependent on the purchasing power but also on the investment attraction of the land. For example, the households in the Dry Zone did not show any interest to purchase land in the village with no irrigation facilities due to high instability in crop production. However, it is reported that the international remittances received by Dry Zone migrant households settled temporarily in Southeast Myanmar were interested to purchase rubber plantation land in the area. International migration also carries a high risk of loss of land for migrant households. International migration is expensive and mostly households use land as collateral to finance migration, which if not successful, the households have very high risks of losing their limited land holdings.

33 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar Access to services Education and skills development Generally, in interviews with migrant workers, it is reported that migration has improved access to education of their children, as against the general belief that internal seasonal migration hampers education of children. For example, children of rubber plantation workers are believed to be lacking access to schooling. The interaction with rubber plantation owners and workers did not reveal this to be true, as most of them are year-round temporary migrants and their children have easy access to nearby schools. However, the case of construction workers, brick factories could not be verified. While studying the impact of migration on education, it is important to do a comparative situation analysis between not only the migrant and non-migrant population, but also the situation of migrants in their origin and destination locations. Migration also has an impact on the level of skills, both vocational and life skills, of migrant workers. Migrant workers without fail lean some additional skills in the migration process which can be very valuable for sustaining the benefits of migration later. Knowing how significant a difference even basic skills enhancement can make on income and employment opportunities for a migrant worker, services - be they formal, informal or on the job which help to upgrade both knowledge and skills of migrants are important for improving chances to graduate from migration as a coping strategy to wealth accumulation for poverty reduction. For example, working as unskilled labour or semi-skilled labourer in construction can make a significant difference in the earning capability of migrant workers both internally and internationally. However, it is necessary to consider the ever changing demands in skills, both internally and internationally (including the ASEAN regional level) and the gender differential in the demand for migrants in various trades and industries Access to health It is generally believed that migration exposes the migrant population to high risks of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, etc. due to mobility and work environment. For example, work in forests and plantations are considered high risk occupations for malaria infection (IOM, 2013); thus, working in mines and rubber would expose migrants to such risks. It is particularly so in rubber plantations, as most work is done during night time. World Vision International reported that in a study conducted in Kawthoung Township, Tanintharyi division, that tuberculosis was much higher among the migrant population compared to the non-migrant population. It is also believed that HIV/AIDS is high among migrant populations and in populations in border areas. Thus, migration seem to have negative impact on the health of the migrant workers. However, exposure to high risks not necessarily means higher mortality. The actual negative impact would depend on access to public health services and the ability of migrants to afford those costs. An IOM study (2013) on access to public health by mobile and migrant population conducted in all the 10 townships in Mon state indicates that migrants had access to public health facilities within minutes by car with the costs between Kyat. During interview with migrant workers, it was reported that remittances help them to better cope with financing medical treatment of ill household members. So, migration seems also to have a positive impact on the health of their family members Social assets Household: family Interviews with the migration-related households and migrants reveal that internal migration has not caused tangible threats in family harmony. As mostly young men and women migrate and as a

34 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 27 household head is rarely involved in internal migration, the hierarchy and the decision-making structure within the family remains mostly the same. Also the financial return from internal migration is not high enough to cause tension and conflict in its use. As both the migrant and the remaining households are highly inter-dependent, the family bonding seem not to deteriorate over time. In cases of absent men, women have to take over more decision-making and management responsibilities in families Society: community Impact of migration on social harmony/social hierarchy varies between the destination and origin location and the type of migration and remittance earned. In Mon State, immigration is reported to have increased social tension. Immigrant populations in general are called Anyer Thar (mainland people) or Bamar (Burmese) by the local Mon people and are generally discriminated. Migrants are also excluded from social and religious events, even though they share the same religion, Buddhism. Migrants are blamed for increase in crime rates in the area (stealing, robbery); and local people generally report feeling unsafe around migrant settlements. This has resulted in some conflicts between the migrants and local communities, resulting in fatalities. Such conflicts were reported in Ye, Kyaikmaraw and Thanbyuzayat townships. For example, in 2012, it is reported that a group of migrant workers from the Dry Zone robbed a village in Ye township under the control of non-state actors. The armed group together with villagers had tracked the migrant group and killed them. Such severe incidences are rare, but many incidences of migrants taking advance money for the work and then absconding were reported. Even children of migrant workers are reported to be discriminated in the school. No such strong negative feelings were expressed in Shan State. In migrant source communities, migration is believed to have increased tolerance and acceptance for other cultures. Within source communities, migration particularly international migration is believed to have reduced the existing social hierarchy. Both in internal and international destinations, it is important to have a strong social network for employment purposes as well as for social life. This inter-dependence of labour migrants in destination locations has strengthened bonds between landless/near-landless farmers and small-to-medium farmers families in the source communities. This is believed to have reduced the social hierarchy existing in the villages based on land and socio-economic situations of the households. There are also reports such as to the experiences of migrant workers from Rakhine State who were returned back from Danu self-administered zone by the local authorities citing that they did not have work and residence permits. However, these cases seem isolated and limited to the self-administered zones. In general, people are free to move and work in different parts of the country. Risks: As seen in Mon state, as the migrant population increases and the local populations feel intimidated by the increased number and dependency on migrant population, there could be tendencies for social tension in the receiving communities Gendered impact of migration As migration is not gender neutral, it is expected that migration would have impact on the gender situation in source communities. However, interviews with migrants did not reveal any such significant impacts. Overall, it is agreed that women are slowly taking a lead in farming but no reports were made on drastic changes in gender division of labour (changes in traditional male and female roles in society or farming) or decision-making as a result of migration. This could be because, unlike international migration, migrants involved in internal migration retain much stronger ties with their families left behind. Also most migrants are easily available to support the families in need, such as during peak farming season or family problems.

35 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar Maximizing and sustaining the benefits of migration There are ways to increase and sustain the benefits from migration for migrants and their households. For the temporary internal migrants, who reside with all or most of their families in the destination areas for a number of years, sustaining their livelihoods is of vital importance. It is observed, as many such migrants work in the agriculture sector (tea and rubber plantations), that their livelihoods are still seasonal in nature in the destination. Thus, creating sufficient and year-round employment at destination is important to maximize the benefits of migration Income security In order to improve the livelihoods of migrant workers in rubber plantations, it is necessary to stabilize their earnings through-out the year. As the interviewed township officials and rubber plantation owners reported that, in order to stabilize the incomes of the migrants as well as the owners, it is necessary to integrate other crops and livestock in rubber plantations. So far rubber is taken up as mono-cropping. However, integrating livestock raising, particularly small livestock such as goat, chicken or even dairy cows, could solve the problem of both rubber price fluctuation and seasonality of labour demand in rubber. If arrangements could be made where rubber owners invest in livestock and the labourers provide the care for the livestock and they share the benefit, it would be beneficial for both the employers and employees. Some plantation owners also shared that they are negotiating with their labourers to make such an arrangement as a pilot. Similarly, introducing multi-tier intensive cropping systems in rubber plantation, as seen in Kerala, India, could also make more efficient use of labour and smoothen incomes for both owners and workers. Other option could be offfarm employment generation though vocational skills training in sewing, handicrafts etc. provided there is a market for such products Skills and productivity Similarly, improving the skills of migrant workers is another way to increase the benefits of migration. For example, working in the construction as unskilled worker could only earn a migrant worker Kyat per day, but addition of some basic skills (mason, plumbing, paining etc.) could improve their earning to Kyat per day. Improving the productivity of the sector also helps in improving the livelihoods of migrant workers. For example, both in tea and rubber plantations, paying the labourers based on the harvest is very common. So an increase in productivity through improved technology and cultivation practices would also imply an increased incomes for the migrant workers. During interviews, most migrants expressed their wish to return to their native village provided there were sufficient work and income opportunities. Thus, it is also important to explore employment and income generation in native villages, if the aspirations of the migrant workers are to be met. As internal migration is mostly used as a survival strategy rather than wealth accumulation strategy, the remittance from internal migration is small and saving are not sufficient to make any significant investment. However, even within internal migration, particularly temporary migration in non-crop sectors, show the potential for sustaining the benefit of migration as shown by the case study below where new skills acquired are used in a new way. Case study 5: Case study of a migrant worker in dairy farm Our migrant is a 32 year old woman from Madaya Township, Mandalaya region. Since April 2014, she and her husband are working in the new dairy farm in the neighbouring village. Earlier she used to work in a dairy farm in Nay Pyi Taw. The decision to move to the new dairy farm was due to its closer proximity to the native village. Earlier she managed to visit home only twice a year, but now

36 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 29 she can visit every week. This is a huge advantage as her children (one son and one daughter) live with her in-laws in the village. Working in dairy farm, the couple could save 80, ,000 Kyat per month. This money is used for consumption, education of children and a small portion invested in cattle. With the knowhow from her work at dairy farm, she was keen to invest in the sector. In 2010, she purchased a cow for 25,000 Kyat. She had arranged with her neighbour to care for the cow whereby the milk is shared between the two and the first years calf is given to her and remaining calf the person caring for the cow. In three years she has now 3 calves. In 2013, she made one more investment on cattle; purchasing 2 cattle for 3 lakhs each. After one year, she sold them for 8 lakhs each. She wants to invest the money back to purchase more cattle and, one day, wishes to have her own small livestock enterprise in the village. As seasonality of incomes from agriculture and lack of other income opportunities in the village is the major reason for migration, it is necessary to identify opportunities for reducing seasonality of livelihood opportunities in the village. This could be done either through farming opportunities throughout the year, by more intensive cropping system and/or through non-farm employment opportunity generation. Opportunities to invest the remittance to generate livelihood opportunities outside the farming in the native village is crucial to sustain the benefits of migration. Migration not only results in remittances but also in addition of vocational and life skills, which can be utilized to develop migrants as entrepreneurs, stakeholders in marketing etc. So, ways of continued learning are essential Remittances: financial management Remittance earnings from internal migration is relatively small and is mostly used to smoothen household consumption with little saving. International migration, on the other hand, entails higher savings, enough to undertake a small enterprise. Even within internal migration, the interview with the migrant workers have shown that the productive use of remittance would also depend on the innovativeness and financial management skills of the migrants. For example, the migrant interviewed in the dairy farm in Mandalay and the restaurant worker in Nay Pyi Taw, clearly has a financial plan to invest the remittance for further expanding the income source. Thus, in order to maximize and sustain the benefits of migration, improving the financial literacy of migrants and their households is important. 9. Mainstreaming migration in development policies and cooperation projects 9.1. Migration in development policies Migration is a livelihood strategy for migration-related households in order to maximize their incomes and minimize risks. Thus, any development policies aiming at rural development have a direct or indirect impact on migration trends and patterns. As landlessness is a major cause for people to migrate, any land reform policy would has a direct impact on internal migration. Similarly, seasonality, poor performance and profitability of the agriculture sector and slow growth of non-agriculture sectors in rural areas is another important reason forcing people to migrate elsewhere in search of livelihood opportunities. Thus, development policies focusing on agriculture and non-agriculture sector growth also have a direct impact on the internal migration. Migration, in turn, impacts the implementation of land, agriculture and non-agriculture sector policy implementation. Therefore, it is important to analyse and mainstream migration and its impact in development policies and respective implementation.

37 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 30 As Myanmar continues to reform and enhance its development policies, strengthen its legal framework and to work towards increased ASEAN community integration, one expects that services, regulations, and safeguards for migrant labourers, in a gender-sensitive way and in particular for internal migrants, will be incrementally promoted. In the meantime, rights and obligations are governed by existing labour laws among others, while migrants and their families benefit from various development policies and related industry investments, among them: Current revision of land use policy and upcoming land law development; various agriculture related laws: fallow land etc. Microfinance law helping to diversify access to rural finance options; a critical game changer in poverty alleviation 19 Agriculture sector development supporting both food security as well diversification of on- and off-farm options, promoting improved technologies, post-harvest processing and value chains benefitting from various projects implemented by development organizations across the country and supported by LIFT, ADB among others. Comprehensive Education Sector Reform (CESR) supported by a number of donor and development organizations, includes vocational skills development with donors and development agencies like SDC, GIZ contributing to improving standards and services in technical and vocational skills development National Electrification Plan (NEP) which includes pro-poor off grid options to enhance rural access to services and employment opportunities Telecommunications providing affordable sim/mobile phone packages and developing various mobile technology based services e.g. for farmers, rural women entrepreneurs Department of Rural Development implementing a national community-driven development program (NCDDP) which aims at improving rural access to basic infrastructures (supported by WB, ADB and Japan) Peace processes supported by the EU among others 9.2. Migration in development projects Development cooperation projects and programs could play a significant role in maximizing and sustaining the benefits of safe migration. Migrant population, particularly internal seasonal migrant workers and year-round temporary migrant workers, are among the most poor and vulnerable group of people. As the official at the Department of Immigration and Population rightly coined, this floating people are also highly mobile as they have to move, where the opportunity exists for their very survival. Thus, for the development cooperation projects and programs, working with the major objective of reducing poverty and vulnerability, this group should be a priority target. Understanding migration patterns, reasons and impacts is vital to identify entry points/interventions to sustain the livelihoods of these migrant workers/families. Also, development projects working in rural poor communities, which are often the source areas for internal migrants, can help the migrant households and communities to make migration an informed choice and not an economic compulsion as it is now. Though the study is rapid with limited area and sector coverage, it points out some vital intervention opportunities for mainstreaming migration and migrants (and their households) in development projects and programs. Agriculture is the major economic sector in rural Myanmar. Thus, improvement in agriculture sector is imperative to improve the livelihoods of the rural smallholder farmers. Agriculture in Myanmar is highly underperforming, with per capita earnings from agriculture about 200 USD per annum, much lower compared to its regional neighbours (MSU & MDRI/CESD, 2013). However, 19 UNCDF survey on financial access in Myanmar (2014)

38 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 31 the agriculture sector has huge potentials for productivity improvements through improved technology. As the Palaung Tea Association mentioned, GIZ support in advanced cultivation technology in tea plantations has resulted in improved productivity (from 300 viss per acre to viss per acre), which has improved not only the income of the tea plantation owners but also the labourers. Exploring similar potentials in other crops is important. Improving agriculture productivity and reducing the risks associated with farming would increase the incomes of farm households as well as create employment for landless agriculture labourers. This, would help to make migration a choice. This would also provide opportunity for utilization of remittances and acquired skills of migrants. At present due to low productivity and unstable markets, people are not eager to invest in land based agriculture sector. The land distribution in Myanmar is highly skewed with almost half of the rural population being landless. Thus, improvements in agriculture, though highly relevant for rural population, for the landless population the benefits would still be limited. So it is important to seek opportunities outside land-based activities, to improve the livelihood of the landless rural population. Skills development for the rural youth (potential migrants) can help to make migration a real choice, make migration more beneficial and also to sustain the benefits of migration by providing opportunities in the native villages. This intervention could be done both at destination as well as at source communities. In source communities, helping people towards an alternative livelihood opportunities through skills enhancement would make it possible for them to have year-round and sufficient incomes at home. This would make migration a real choice for the households. Even when the skilled persons decide to migrate, this would help them in finding higher earning jobs and thus maximize benefits of migration. In case of households, who already have migrant members, skilling of other members could help on investment of remittance to sustain the benefits of migration in the long run. Similarly, skilling of migrants in destination could help in providing year round sustained incomes for the migrants as well as increase their income earning capacities. Through the skills learnt, they could also sustain benefits of migration by investing in SMEs at destination or native villages. Most internal migrants are dependent on daily wages to support themselves and their families. Thus, migrants might not be able to afford the loss of daily wages during the training period. Special training package considering the needs of the migrant workers would need to be developed. Supporting responsible private sector development where women s and child rights, labour rights, wages and conditions meet minimum standards in welfare, safety and social security can be another avenue for more and better income-generation. Migration is not gender neutral and so its impact is also gender-sensitive. As most labour migrants, both internal and international, are male, it has an impact on the gender roles and responsibilities at the source communities. As the interview with the migrants reveal, in many source villages, the women are now taking a lead in the agriculture sector in the village. This has an implication on the support that development cooperation projects and programs plan in source communities. The intervention should be women friendly and the specific needs of women should be considered in the interventions. Raising awareness and risk mitigation can be integrated into any project, even if not focusing on migration. This can involve improving access to information on related laws and policies e.g. labour, child and women s rights, basic health, related services e.g. safe migration/anti-trafficking as well promoting social harmony through peer group and multi-stakeholder exchange and activities at community and township levels among others.

39 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar Conclusion and recommendations Internal migration is an important livelihood strategy undertaken by smallholder and landless rural populations to increase their income and employment security and options. The major reason for internal migration is the lack of year-round and sufficient income opportunities in the source locations and the demand for the labour in destination locations. However, there is a gradual trend in internal migration to progress from seasonal to year round temporary migration and permanent migration, and eventually to international migration. The transition from seasonal to temporary and permanent is particularly seen in the case of landless/near landless farmers and in case of small holder farmers to international migration. Not only internal but even international migration is seasonal in nature at times. More than wage difference, the lack of availability of off-farm work and seasonality of agriculture sector is the major cause of internal migration. Among the various sectors in which internal migrants are found working, construction sector provides higher wages for unskilled rural population. However, this sector also entails higher risks of work site accident, which when coupled of lack of health insurance, makes it more riskier option. Internal migration is generally a survival strategy rather than wealth accumulation strategy. The earning capacity is much higher in international migration compared to internal migration, when migration is successful. While a successful international migration can lead to accumulation of land, small business, a successful internal migration is still limited to bridging gaps in consumption demands of the household members. However, there is some evidence suggesting that even the small savings from internal migration can be invested in SMEs provided there are favourable conditions (household members willing and skilled enough to look after the enterprises). Internal migration takes place based on the existing social networks. Some of the migration routes are traditional such as from Dry Zone to Shan State to work in the tea plantations and to the mines in Southeast Myanmar. However, with the changes in prices of the crops, these traditional routes are losing its attraction and new route and sector are immersing such as construction. Among the internal migration steam, intra-state migration is very high in Shan and Mon state. In the Dry Zone both intra and inter-state migration is popular. Intra-state migration is more seasonal in nature and inter-state migration temporary or permanent in nature. One interesting finding is the organization of youth in some source communities for migration purpose which could also provide a good base for development interventions focused on youth. Though migration is an economic compulsion at present, interventions from development cooperation projects and programs can support in making it a real choice as well as to maximize and sustain the benefit of safe migration. As the internal migrants are among the poorest and most vulnerable section of the rural population, this group of people should be a priority target for development projects. The needs of this group of people vary from other others and so special considerations would be necessary to include this group of people in development support.

40 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar References and reports/studies reviewed DoP (2014). The Population and housing census of Myanmar, 2014 Summary of the provisional results. Department of Population, Ministry of Immigration and Population, Republic of the Union of Myanmar. EMR & World Bank (2013). Qualitative Social and Economic Monitoring Round three report. Commissioned by the Livelihoods and food security trust fund, Enlightened Myanmar Research and World Bank, Myanmar. Hickey, Narendra and Rainwater (2013). A Review of internal and regional migration policy in Southeast Asia. Working Paper 8, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. IDMC (2007). Forced migration/internal displacement in Burma with an emphasis on Government controlled areas. Internal Displacement Monitoring Center IOM & ARCM (2013), Assessing Potential changes in the migration patterns of Myanmar migrants and their impacts on Thailand. International organization of Migration and Asian Research Center for Migration, Thailand. IOM (2011). Reproductive and HIV and Sexual health activity in Myanmar. Presentation at the regional workshop on migrant health program, Bangkok, Thailand, July IOM (2013). Malaria on the move: Mapping of Population Migration and Malaria in the South-Eastern Region of Myanmar, International Organization of Migration Mission in Myanmar. IOM (2013). Mobility pattern of uprooted population in the action target clusters of Mon State. International Organization for Migration (not published) Manon van Zuijlen, (2002). Pilot study on out-migration of women and children in the Dry Zone. A joint activity between Food security project and UN-IAP, Myanmar MSU & MDRI/CESD (2013). A strategic agricultural sector and food security diagnostic for Myanmar. Michigan State University and Myanmar Development Resource Institution s Center for Economic and Social Development, Myanmar, July 2013.f Nyi N., (2013). Levels, trends and patterns of internal migration in Myanmar. Department of Population, Ministry of Immigration and Population, Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Okamato, I. (2009). Issues affecting the movement of rural labour in Myanmar: Rakhine Case Study. IDE discussion Paper, Institute of Development Economics, JETRO, Japan. World Bank & MDR, (2012). Qualitative Social and Economic Monitoring Round one report. Commissioned by the Livelihoods and food security trust fund, World Bank and Myanmar Development Research, Myanmar. World Bank & MDR, (2013). Qualitative Social and Economic Monitoring Round two report. Commissioned by the Livelihoods and food security trust fund.

41 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar Annexes Annex 1 Executive Summary in Myanmar အက ဉ ခ ပ ရ ရ ပ င အလ ပ သမ မ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ပပ ရရ လ ရသ လ ပ အ ခက အ မ ရ င စ တစ ခ လ အ သ င ဆင ရ ရသ အ မ ရ င စ မ စ ဝတ ရ ရရ ရပ တည န င ရစရ အဓ ကဝင ရင အ စ လ ရ ပ င ရ က ပ ရပ ခင င တစ ကမဘ လ တ င ရ ရ ပ င အလ ပ သမ မ အခ ကဏ ဍသည အရရ ကက လ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည ဆင ရ ရသ အ မ ရ င စ မ လရ မ ဘဝ ရပ တည န င ရစရရ နင ရ သဥတ န င ငရရ စ ပ ရရ ရ ပ င လ မ မ နင လ က ရလ ညရ စ ရ င န င ရရ တ အတ က ရ ရင ရသ အဓ က ည ဗ ဟ တစ ခ စ သည ပင ည လမ သည ရက လက ရ သမ တ င ရ င သည ဆင ရ ရသ အ မ ရ င စ မ အတ က လည ရ သအလ က ရရ ရသ စ က ပ ရရ ဝင ရင နင အလ ပ အက င ရ ပ ရသ အရ ခအရ မ က ရ ရင ရစန င သည ည လမ တစ ခ လည စ သည မ မ န င ငသည အရရ ရတ င အ ရန င ငမ တ င စ က ပ ရ မ သစ ရတ ရ မ သဘ ဝဓ တ ရင နင တ င က ပ စည မ မစ ရခ င အင အ င ရရခ သယဇ တမ ရပ ကကယ ဝရသ တ ယအကက ဆ န င င စ သည သ ရသ မ မ န င ငသည က လကက ရည စ စ ရပ ခ ရသ ပဋ ပကခမ မ ရယ ဥပရ နင စည မ ဉ တ က ပ လည ပ ပင ရ ရသ န င င စ သည မ မ န င ငတ င ရ င ကကရသ ရက လက ရ သလဦ ရရ အဓ ကဝင ရင မ ပမ ဏ ည ပ ပပ ရ သအလ က စ က ပ ရရ လ ပ င င သ ရရ သည ရကက င မ မ န င င ယ စပ ရ သမ တ င အလ ပ အက င အခ င အလမ အတ က ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ ဦ ရရမ မင မ လ က ရ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင (Internal Migration) ဆ သည မ န င ငအတ င ရမ ရ ဇ တ ရပ ရ မမ အ ခ အရပ ရ သဆသ အလ ပ အက င အတ က ရ ရ ပ င ရ င လ ပ က င ခင က ဆ လ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ကကရသ ရ ရ ရ သ အက အရဝ အခ က လရပ မတည ရ သအလ က ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင (Seasonal Migration) ယ ယ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင (Temporary Migration) နင အပမ တမ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင (Permanent Migration) ဟ ၃ မ ခ ခ သည မ မ န င င ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နင သက ဆ င ရသ အခ က အလက မ မ အလ ည ပ ပ သည ဤသ ရသသ စ တမ သည ရက လက ရ သမ တ င ဆင ရ ရသ အ မ ရ င စ မ အတ က အရရ ကက ရသ အသက ရမ ဝမ ရက င ည ဗ ဟ အ စ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင က မ မ န င ငရ အပပ င ဇ ရမ ပည ယ နင အရရ ရတ င ပ င ရ သမ တ င

42 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 35 ရလ လ ခ ခင စ ပ သည ရလ လ ခ ရသ ရ သမ မ HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Program မ စမက ပ လ ပ ရ ယ ရ မမ စ ပ သည ဤစ တမ သည က က စ အ ပ မ ရလ လ သည ရ သမ ရ သက ဆ င ရ တ ဝ ရ ပ ဂ လ မ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ င တ မ သ စ မ က ရမ မ ခင မရရ ရသ အခ က အလက တ က အရ ခခ သ သပ တင ပ ခင စ ပ သည ရလ လ ရသ ယ ရ မမ တ င ရတ ရ ရသည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင ပ စမ မ ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင (Internal Migration) ယ စပ တ ရက ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင (Crossborder Shuttle Migration) နင ပည ပသ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင (International Migration) ဟ အမ မ က ပ ရ ပ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင တ င ရ သအလ က ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင ယ ယရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နင အပမ တမ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင ဟ ပ မက ပ သည တ င ရ သကက (သ မဟ တ ) ပည ယ တစ ခ အတ င မ ပင ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ကကရသ အလ ပ သမ မ စ ရ ရကက င ရတ ရ ရသည ရယဘ ယ အ င ပမ ရတ ကက မ စ ရသ ရ က နင မနတရလ ပမ အ ပတ ဝ က င ရ သမ တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ကကပ သည ရလ လ ရတ ရ ခ က မ အရ ရ သအလ က ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ရ မ ယ ယရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နင ယ စပ တ ရက ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင က က ရ ပ င သ ရသ အလ ပ သမ မ လည ရ ပ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ရ ခင အရကက င ရင မ ဇ တ ရပ ရ မတ င အသက ရမ ဝမ ရက င မ အလ ပ အက င အခ င အရရ မ တစ နစ ပတ လ မရရ ခင နင ရ ပ ခင တ ရကက င စ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည အဓ ကစ ဝတ ရ ရရ အတ က လ ပ က င ရ ခင စ ပပ ပည ပသ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင မ ရင ရကက ရရ လ မ အတ က ပ လ ပ ခင စ သည မ မ န င င အပပ င ဇ ရ သမ တ င ရ င ရသ အ မ ရ င စ မ အတ က ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည စ စ မ အ ည ဆ ည ဗ ဟ စ သည ရ သမ တ င ရ သဥတ အရ ခအရ ရကက င စ က ပ ရရ ဝင ရင မရသခ သည အတ က အ ခ ရ သမ ရ ရ ဘ ခမ လက က စ က ခင မ သ တ တ င အ တ တ လ ပ င ရဆ က လ ပ ရရ လ ပ င စ ရသ က ဆ င မ လက က ရည ဆ င မ အ ည ခ ပ စက ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ကကသည မ နင င လ ပ င မ စသည တ တ င ပည ပသ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ကကသမ တ င ရတ င သကက မ နင အလယ အလတ ရတ င သမ သ စ မ သ င တ ဘဝပ မ တ တက ရစရရ အတ က သ ရရ က လ ပ က င ကကပပ လယ ယ မ အ မ ရ င စ မ မ သ ရရ က လ ပ က င ခင က မရတ ရပ ပည ပသ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည အ ခ န င ငမ တ င မင မ ရသ လ ပ အ ခရရ ခင ရကက င စ ပ သည မ မ န င ငတ င ယ စပ တ ရက ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နင ပည ပသ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင က စ တ ဝင စ မ ပ မ ရကက င ရတ ရ ရပ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင တ င က /မက ပ မ မရ ရသ လည ပည ပသ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင တ င အမ အ င အမ သ မ လ ပ က င ကကသည လ ပ င အရ င အမ သမ မ သည လက က ခင

43 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 36 စ က ပ ရရ အလ ပ မ အ ည ခ ပ စက မ နင အ မ အကမ အ စ လ ပ က င ကကပပ အမ သ မ သည ရ ဘ ခမ သ တ တ င နင ရဆ က လ ပ ရရ လ ပ င မ တ င လ ပ က င ကကသည ရလ လ ခ ရသ ရ သမ တ င မ မ န င င အပပ င ဇ ရ သသည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နင ပည ပရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နစ မ လ က အဓ ကရတ ရ ရရသ ဧရ ယ စ သည မ ပည ယ နင ရမ ပည ယ ရ သမ သည ယ စပ တ ရက နင ပည ပ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ အတ က ရခ တ အရ ခခ ရ ရ ရ စ သည ပင ရ သမ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ အတ က ရ က ဆ အရ ခခ ရ အရပ ရ သလည စ သည ရ သမ သည လမ ရရ ဆ င ရ ခ တ ဆက မ ရ ခင နင က စည က သ ရရ င ဝယ မ လမ ရကက င ရပ တ င တည ရ ရသ ရကက င စ သည လက ရ လမ ရရ ဆ င ရ ခ တ ဆက မ မ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နင ပည ပရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နစ မ လ တ င အလ အရရ ပ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင က လမ ရရ ခ တ ဆက မ မ နင ရ သရ က သ ရရ င ဝယ မ လမ ရကက င ရပ တ င အဓ က စ ရပ ရစသည လ ခ ရသ နစ ရပ င မ စ ကပင မ မ န င င အပပ င ရ သ မ ရမ ပည ယ လက က စ က ခင မ သ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင မ ရ ခ သည သ ရသ လည ယခ အခ သ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင မ သည ည ပ လ ပပ မ သ စ ရဆ မ သငယ ခ င မ တ ရဆ မ စရသ လမ ရရ ခ တ ဆက မ မ င ပ မ ရက င မ ရသ အ ခ ရ သ မ သ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င လ ကကသည သ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ရ တ င ဇ တ ရပ ရ မမ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င မည ရ သမ သ ခ တ ဆက ရပ ရသ အလ ပ သမ ပ စ မ လည ရ လ ပပ ပ စ မ က အခရကက ရင ရပ ရသည အစ ရအ အစည အရ င အပမ တမ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင မလ ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင မ က ပ ဝင ရဆ င ရ က ခင မရ ပ သ ရသ အစ ရနင အစ ရမဟ တ ရသ အ အစည မ က မ ရရ ဆ င ရ စမခ က မ (ငက HIV/AIDs အဆ တ ရရ ဂ ) လမ ဘဝ ပ ရရ ယ စပ ရ သလ ခ ရရ အတင အက ပ ရစခ င ခရရသ လ ပ သ အမ သမ နင ကရလ လ အခ င အရရ လ ပ င ခ င သင တ မ အစရ ရသ စမခ က မ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ အတ က တ က က ရသ လည ရက င သ ယ ဝက ရသ လည ရက င အက ရ ရကက င ရတ ရ ရပ သည အစ ရ အ အစည မ သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင တ င ပ ဝင ပတ သတ မ မရ ခင မ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင ဆ င ရ ဥပရ နင တ ဝ ယရဆ င ရ က မည အ အစည မရ ရသ ရကက င စ သည သ ရသ ပည ပရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင တ င မ ပ ဝင ရဆ င ရ က ရကက င ရတ ရ ရပ သည ပည တ င နင ပည ပရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင နစ မ လ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ နင င တ မ သ စ မ အတ က ဝင ရင ရရ ခင လယ ယ ရ မဝယ ယန င ခင အလ ပ သမ င ရမ န င ခင လမ ရရ အသ စရ တ မ ရရ ခင စသည င ရ ရသ အက သက ရရ က မ ရ သည ရယဘ ယ အ င ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည မ သ စ မ စ ပ ရရ အရ ခအရ က တ တက လ ရစသည သ ရသ တ တက မ မ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င မ အမ အစ လ ပ သ က မ က င မ နင လ ပ က င ရသ စ ပ ရရ လ ပ င အရပ တ င မတည သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင အ လ သည

44 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 37 မ သ စ ဝင ရင တ လ ခင သ မက စ စ မ အမ မ ရ ပ သည အရ ခအရ တ င ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည မ သ စ ဝင ရင က တ တက လ ရစ သ မက လယ ယ သ နမ ရ န အတက အက စ မ ရ သဥတ ရ ပ င လ မ တ ရကက င ကက ရတ ရသည စ စ မ မ က ရလ ည ရစသည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည ရ ရ ပ င ရ ရ သမ တ င ရ ရသ အလ ပ သမ ရ က က မ အရပ တ က က အက သက ရရ က မ င ရ စ ရ ပ သည ရ ရ ပ င အရ ခခ ရ ရ မ တ င အလ ပ သမ ရ ပ မ ပဿ က ရလ ည ရစပပ ဇ တ ရပ ရ မမ တ င လည အလ ပ လက မ ပဿ က ရ ရင ခင င မ တရစသည သ ရသ ဇ တ ရပ ရ မတ င စ က ပ ရရ လ ပ င မ အလ ပ သမ ရ သခ တ င အလ ပ သမ ရ ပ မ က စ ရစန င ပ သည ပင ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည ရက လက ရ သမ ရ ဆင ရ သ မ သ စ မ အတ က လယ ယ ရ မပ င ဆ င န င ခ င အရပ အက သက ရရ က မ ရ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင မ ရရ ရသ ဝင ရင င အရကက ဆပ န င ခင ရကက င လယ ယ ရ မဆ မ က ဟ တ ရစန င သည ပင မ သ စ အရ ခခလ အပ ခ က မ စ ရသ ပည ရရ က မ ရရ နင က မ က င မ တ က တ မ င လ ရစသည သ ရသ လည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ရသ အလ ပ အက င အရပ မတည လ ပ သ မ အရ င ငက ရရ ဂ HIV/AIDs အဆ တ ရရ ဂ အစရ သည ရရ ဂ မ ရရ ရစန င သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင တ င အ မ ရ င စ မ ဆ ဝ ရသ အက သက ရရ က မ က မရတ ရရသ လည ရ သခ ပည သမ နင ရ ပ င ရ လ ပ သ မ ကက တ င လမ ရရ ဆ င ရ ပဿ အခ က ရတ ရ ရပ သည ရ သတ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ အရပ မခ လ ပ က င ရသ စ ပ ရရ လ ပ င မ မ ပ လ သည နင အမ ရ သခမ နင ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ ကက တ င လမ ရရ ဆ င ရ တင မ မ မ စ လ ရကက င ရတ ရ ရသည သ ရသ လည အ ခ ရ သမ တ င က သ လမ ရရ ပဿ မ က မရတ ရပ ရယဘ ယ အ င ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည အ မ ရ င စ မ အရပ ရက င ရသ အက သက ရရ က မ မ ရ ရသ လည က က စရ တ မ က ရလ ခ န င ရ ဝင ရင မင မ ရ နင ရရရည တ တက န င ရစရ အဟ အတ မ ရ သည င တ က ရ ရင န င ရ အတ က ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ ဝင ရင က တစ နစ ပတ လ တည ပင မ ရစ ခင က မ က င မ တ မ င ခင လ ပ က င ရသ လ ပ င မ တ လ ပ န င မ က မင မ ရစ ခင နင ရင ရကက ဆ င ရ စမခ ခ မ မ က ပ မ က မ က င လ ရစ ခင င ရ ရင န င သည ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင က အမ ဆ ရတ ရ ရရသ စ က ပ ရရ ကဏ ဍတ င ရ သအလ က လ ပ ရရသ သဘ ဝရ ပ သည ရကက င ရ သခ မဟ တ ရသ အခ မ တ င ဝင ရင ရရ ရသ အလ ပ အက င အခ င အလမ မ တ ရပ ခင င င တ ဝင ရင က တစ နစ လ အတ က ရသခ ရစန င ပ သည အတ အ က န ည ပပ ရ မ ရသ စ က ပ ရရ က က မ အ သ င လက က နင ရ ဘ က သ စ က ပ ရရ လ ပ င မ တ င မ ပ လရသ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ ဘဝသည ခ က လ က ရ ပ သည ရကက င င စ က ပ ရရ

45 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 38 ကဏ ဍမ တ င သ နအ က န နင အက အ မတ ပ မ ရရ ရအ င လ ပ ရဆ င ရပ ခင င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ အသက ရမ ဝမ ရက င လ ပ င မ လည တ တက လ မည စ သည လ ပ င ဆ င ရ က မ က င မ မ င တင ရပ ခင င လည ရ ရ ပ င အလ ပ သမ မ ဝင ရင က တ တက ရစန င သည သ ရသ လည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင မရရ လ ရသ အက ရက ဇ မ က ရရရည ခစ န င ရစရ ရင ရကက ဆ င ရ စမခ ခ မ စ ရသ ရရ သည ရင က စ စ တက စမ ခင နင စ ရဆ င ခင သည အလ အရရ ကက ပ သည ရင ရကက ဆ င ရ စမခ ခ မ အရည အခ င တ တက လ ခင သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ သ စ မ ဘဝက ရရရည တ င တ တက လ ရစမည စ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင မရရ ရသ အက ရက ဇ မ က မင မ ရစရ နင ရရရည တ တက ရစရ အတ က န င င ပ တ တက မ မဝ နင ပ ရပ င ရဆ င ရ က ရသ စမက မ သည အရရ ကက ရသ အခ ကဏ ဍမ ပ ဝင သည ယခ အခ ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင သည ရရ ခ ယ မ တစ ခ မဟ တ ဘ စ ပ ရရ အရ လ ပ ရဆ င ရမည ည လမ တစ ခ စ သည ရ သခ အ မ ရ င စ မ အတ က ပ မ ရက င မ ရသ အလ ပ က င အခ င အလမ မ တ ရပ ခင သည ရရ ခ ယ မ တစ ခ စ ပ သည သ တ ရပ န င ခင သည န င င ပ မ မဝ နင စမက မ အရပ တ င မတည လ က ရ သည ရ မယ နင စ က ပ ရရ ဆ င ရ စမက မ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင အရပ တ က က အက သက ရရ က မ ရ ရစမည စ က ပ ရ မမရ ခင နင ရ သအလ က လ ပ က င ခင သည စ က ပ ရရ ကဏ ဍတ င ပည တ င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ က င ခင စ ရပ ရစသည အဓ ကအခ က စ သည ရကက င ရ မယ ခ ရဝ ခင နင စ က ပ ရရ ဆ င ရ မဝ မ တ တက လ ပ က ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ အရ င အမ တကယ ရရ ခ ယ န င ရသ အခ င အလမ မ ရပ ရပ က လ မည စ ပ သည အတ ရ သအတ င ပ မ ရက င မ ရသ ပည ရရ နင လ ပ င ခ င က မ က င မ ဆ င ရ သင တ မ သည လ ပ သ မ အတ က ပ မ ရက င မ ဝင ရင မင မ ရသ အလ ပ အက င အခ င အလမ မ က တ ရပ န င ရစမည စ ပ သည မ မ န င င ရ သအသ သ တ င ရဆ င ရ က လ က ရ ရသ ပ တ တက မ စမက မ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ အရပ ရက င က နင ဆ က နစ မ လ ရ န င ရသ လည အ သ င က မ ရရ စမ က မ သည ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ အရပ က မ ရရ ဆ င ရ အနတရ ယ မ က လည သရဘ ရပ က ရစရ ပ ပ ရပ သည ပင ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ အမ စ သည ဆင ရ ရသ မ သ စ မ မ စ ရသ ရကက င ရ ရ ပ င လ ပ သ မ ပ တ တက မ က ရည ရ ယ ရသ စမက မ သည န င င ဆင ရ န မ ပ မ ရလ ခ ရရ ရည မ ခ က အတ က အရ က အက စ ရစန င ပ သည

46 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 39 Annex 2 Map showing the townships visited for the study Source:

47 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar Annex 3 List of persons contacted for the study No. Organization / Individuals Persons contacted 1 International Labour Organization (ILO) Ms. Ma. Lourdes Kathleen Santos Macasil, Programme Officer Jacqueline Pollack, Technical Officer, Labour Migration Kimberly Rogovin, Technical Officer, Trafficking 2 International Organization for Migration (IOM) Ms. Michiko Ito, Programme Manager Mr. Maciej Pieczkowski, Programme Manager 3 World Bank Mr. Corey Pattison 4 UNOPS, Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund Mr. Andrew Kirkwood, Fund Director, LIFT 5 Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Ms. Carin Salermo, Deputy Director of Cooperation Mr. Nay Myo Zaw, National Programme Officer 6 Swisscontact Mr. Michael Mechthold-Jin, Program Director, Vocational Skills Development Program 7 World Vision International Ms. Naw Genevieve, Grants Management Department Manager Ms. Pyae Phyo Swe, Program Coordinator, End Trafficking in Persons Program Mr. Min Aung Myint, Community Development Facilitator, Mawlamyine Township, Mon State 8 Myanmar Business Executives Association Mr. Myin Maung Htun, President Mr. Florestan Fillon, Strategic Development Consultant Mr. Min Min Myitzu, Joint Secretary Ms. Soe Hutu, Secretary, Social Business 9 Myanmar Business Solution Dr. Than Htay, Managing Director 10 MCRB Ms. Vicky Bowman, Chairperson 11 Ratanna Metta Mr. Myo Lwin, Member, Executive Committee 12 Enlightened Myanmar Research (EMR) Program Manager, Dry Zone Ms. Myat Thet Thitsar, Research Director Ms. Myat The Thitsar, Executive Director 13 UNHCR Mr. Saw Sar Law Eh, Assistant Field Officer, Mon state 14 Promoting the Rule of Law Project Mr. Min Tun Ko Ko Paing, Mon Regional Coordinator 15 Township Office, Mudon, Mon State Mr. U Zaw Win Latt, Township Officer, Research and Development, Mudon township 16 Department of Industrial crops Development, Mudon Estate Mr. U Kyaw Myo Thu, Assistant Director 17 Fish Entrepreneur Mr. Myo Min Thu, Mawlamyine Township 18 CARE International Mr. Win Naing Thein, Rubber Advisor, Mon state 19 Local Resource Center Mr. Min Win Bo, Regional Coordinator 20 Township Office, Kyaikmaraw Mr. Thein Aung Than, Township Manager Mr. Min Ye Lwin, Deputy Manager 21 Rubber Farmers/Owners, Kyaikmaraw Township Mr. Tu Naing, Rubber plantation, rubber nursery, marketing of rubber and owner of fertilizer/other inputs shop Mr. San Myint, Rubber plantation owner, Township secretary of Myanmar Rubber Plantation and Production Association. 22 Palaung Tea Association 23 Yezin Agriculture University Ms. Nandar Aye Chan, research assistant and M.Sc. (Ag. Econ.) Student with thesis on migration in Kyaukpadaung Township in Mandalay Region. 24 Groundnut and sesame oil seed processor and whole seller Ms. Thin Htay Win, Magway Township 24 Key Informants Mr. Ko Gyi, Chan Aye Thar Zan township, Mandalay

48 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 41 Annex 4 List of participants of tea workshop and focused group discussion on internal migration in Shan State No. Name/Area list Gender Organization NAMH SAM 1 Sai Nyunt Maung M Palaung Tea Association 2 Ko Lin Aung Naing M Palaung Tea Association 3 Aung Zaw Lay M Palaung Tea Association 4 U Zaw Nyunt M Palaung Tea Association 5 U Moe Kyaw M Palaung Tea Association MAN TONG 6 U Sai Khaung M TEA grower & Producer 7 U Aeik Lu M TEA farmer 8 U Tun Aye M TEA seller PINDAYA 9 U Tun Kaung M Shwe Danu 10 Daw Than Shwe F Shwe Danu 11 Nay Oo M Shwe Danu KYAIN TONG 12 Nang Htet Thu Hlaing F Mauk Kan Local Development Organization 13 Ko Lincon M Mauk Kan Local Development Organization 14 Ko Yin Htwe M Loimwe Te farmers PINLAUNG 15 Sai Kaung Kham M Shan Youth Organization 16 Nang Noon Kham F SYO, CBO & Farmer 17 Nang Hein Kham F SYO, CBO & Farmer 18 Nan Aye Mi San Win F SYO, CBO & Farmer

49 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 42 Annex 5 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation at a glance WHO WE ARE HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is one of the most experienced and largest development organisations in Switzerland. It is a denominationally and politically neutral association governed by Swiss law. The organisation represents the collected experiences of Helvetas, Swiss Association for International Cooperation, founded in 1955 as Switzerland s first private organisation for development cooperation and of Intercooperation, Swiss Foundation for Development and International Cooperation, a knowledge organisation, combining a professional approach with social commitments. It operates under the brand HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation since the integration of Intercooperation s operations into Helvetas in HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is primarily committed to working towards the elimination of the causes of poverty and marginalisation in the South and the East. Its mission is to support the efforts of disadvantaged people and communities in developing countries to determine the course of their own lives and provide help for them to help themselves. HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation promotes fair access to essential resources and protects social, economic, political, environmental and cultural rights. In Switzerland, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation promotes a spirit of solidarity among the population and campaigns for coherent policies that benefit people in developing countries. working areas. OUR WORKING AREAS HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation s work is based on a human rights-based approach. In order to make a sustainable contribution to poverty alleviation, its work takes into account a multi-dimensional character, including social, ecological and economic aspects. Special importance is given to gender equality and social equity, capacity development and knowledge sharing and learning, which are three aspects embedded in all its work. HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation remains accountable to its stakeholders, builds lasting partnerships, is quality conscious, seeks to make a substantive impact and nurtures and promotes innovation. The organisation intervenes in five Water and Infrastructure: drinking water, sanitation and water for food; rural roads and bridges. Rural Economy: sustainable agriculture and food security; income markets and fair trade. Governance and Peace: decentralisation, governance and human rights; conflict prevention and transformation; migration; culture. Skills Development and Education: basic education; vocational training. Environment and Climate Change: sustainable natural resource management; climate change; disaster risk reduction.

50 HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation Myanmar 43 OUR VALUES Our engagement is based on solidarity and partnership. We work towards achieving human rights and upholding the principle of self-determined development. We are committed to social equity and strive for equal opportunities for men and women regardless of age, origin, language, religion, culture or political convictions. Our collaboration with our partners is based on mutual respect for cultural values and principles. We stand for development that balances economic viability, environmental appropriateness and social benefits. OUR TRIPLE COMMITMENT HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation works in three mutually reinforcing ways in Switzerland and its partner countries in order to optimise the impact of its efforts: Development projects: grass-roots development programmes in our partner countries form the backbone of our work. They are directly focused on combating poverty. Advisory services: our multi-disciplinary team of experts advises and assists both our own projects and other organisations with technical and methodological inputs. Advocacy on development issues: we foster dialogue with national and regional governments in our partner countries based on our practical experience. OUR PARTNER COUNTRIES HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is engaged with long-term development programmes in 32 partner countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Furthermore, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation provides short and long-term advisory services to a broad range of international clients in numerous additional countries. We promote programme-based cooperation between our country programmes by establishing cross-border focus regions. HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation has a broad experience and avails of the necessary instruments for the management of complex and challenging development projects. We generally implement several projects in our partner countries so that they can complement each other as part of a programme and have a greater impact. To ensure overall programme cohesion we maintain national programme management offices for our larger country programmes. HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation s partner countries: